Rachel Stevens suffered from PTSD after masked men broke into her home and attacked her, stealing valuable items.
In a horrific attack, the S Club star claims the man intimidated her by grabbing her throat and threatening to ‘break her neck’ should she scream.
She had been returning to her Primrose Hill flat after a shopping trip in 2009, months after her stint on Strictly Come Dancing where she came second.
The 46-year-old singer shared: ‘A guy wearing a balaclava charged towards me, knocking me backwards, we tumbled down the stairs.’
Even 15 years on, Rachel still feels shaken by the incident and will often be startled and anxious should someone knock into her.
‘With his full weight on top of me, he put a hand round my throat and threatened to break my neck if I screamed, she told The Times. ‘He then stripped me of my jewellery, including my diamond necklace and Rolex.’
The Sweet Dreams My LA Ex hitmaker said two more men ran into her home and stole other valuable items like her computer and jewellery before fleeing the scene.
‘Thankfully, they were caught,’ she continued. ‘They turned out to be a gang that had targeted several well-known people in St John’s Wood, Hampstead and Primrose Hill.
‘Afterwards, I suffered terrible PTSD. Even now, I jump if someone knocks unexpectedly.’
Rachel was then caught up in a terrifying shooting weeks later at a restaurant in St John’s Wood, which she discussed in court while facing a driving ban.
‘The two incidents that happened so close together definitely caused a lot of post-traumatic stress,’ she told Willsden Magistrates’ Court last year.
‘After that, I felt scared to even leave my house, get out of my car and I was just very fearful.’
At the time the Reach star revealed she hasn’t taken the Tube in years and avoids being alone in cars with strangers, due to her PTSD.
She is currently house hunting in North London with partner Brendyn Hatfield, who she was paired with on Dancing on Ice.
Rachel has two children — Amelie, 13, and Minnie, 10 — from her relationship with ex Alex Bourne, who she was seeing when the attack happened.
The pair split in 2022 after 13 years together, with the pop star calling it ‘messy’ and explaining they had been ‘growing apart’.