Chris Evans admitted he’s still close with Billie Piper 20 years after marrying her when she was 18

Chris Evans said it ‘never gets less weird’ interviewing his ex-wife Billie Piper.

Piper first met Evans when she appeared on his show TFI Friday back in 2000 and they began dating a short while after.

In 2001, the couple got hitched in Las Vegas. Piper was just 18 years old at the time, while the radio presenter was 35.

The pair split in 2004, when Piper was 21, and divorced in 2007 - but remain friends.

Opening up about the age-gap relationship last year, Piper said: “A lot of it was just tabloid fodder, rather than, ‘Oh, she was a pop star.’

Dave Hogan/Getty Images

“It was more, ‘She was a pop star, then she got p*****d for five years with an old man.’ I think that was the lasting image when I walked into an audition room.”

Discussing their whirlwind romance, Piper said that she 'loved it.'

“Loved that time. Learned so much,” she explained. “Really needed it, after the experiences that I’d had, leading up to that point.

“I felt like I’d actually found a real friend. I guess meeting someone who had experienced [fame] for 20 years, at that level, it was very nurturing.

"And also very drunken, which I needed. I had a lot of fun during those years.”

Meanwhile, Evans has also spoken fondly of his ex - during an interview with Piper on his Virgin Radio show in 2021, he wrapped up their chat by saying: "Lovely to talk to you on the radio... because that's what I do for a living.

"But it's also just nice to have you in my life! Thank you so much!"

Piper was quick to return the sentiment and thanked Evans for his time.

Dave Hogan/Getty Images

After the call ended, Evans told his co-host Vassos Alexander: "It never gets any less weird interviewing your ex-wife about her living.”

Noting their closeness, Alexander replied: “It doesn’t sound weird!”

To which Evans responded: "Well it feels it, let me tell you!

"I'm thinking about it too much."

Following her split from Evans, Piper went on to marry controversial political activist, Laurence Fox.

They were married for nine years and share two children together, Winston James Fox, 14, and Eugene Pip Fox, 11.

Piper also has a third child, four-year-old Tallulah Lloyd, with her partner and Tribes frontman, Johnny Lloyd, who she has been in a relationship with since 2016.

Evans also remarried; tying the knot with Natasha Shishmanian in 2007 with Piper in attendance.

Topics: Celebrity, Sex and Relationships

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]