Rachel Stevens was spotted puffing a cigarette while sitting in the street – years after revealing her battle with quitting the habit. 

The S Club 7 star, 48, squatted on a stoop with a pal while lighting and dragging on a cigarette amid her 31 year fight to stop smoking which has come alongside her squeaky clean ‘girl next door’ image. 

Having shot to fame in 1998 in the pop group alongside Tina Barrett, the late Paul Cattermole, Jon Lee, Bradley McIntosh, Jo O’Meara and Hannah Spearritt, Rachel has long-been a tabloid sweetheart, meaning she was frequenly pictured. 

During 28 years in the spotlight and many years on the party scene, the stunner has been seen puffing away, while her latest sighting proves she is yet to stop. 

In 2019, New Zealand’s Metro Magazine journalist Eli Orzessek shared details of meeting the group in an article entitled: ‘”They smelled strongly of ciggie smoke”: Eating breakfast with S Club 7 in late-90s Auckland’. 

Rachel Stevens was spotted puffing a cigarette while sitting in the street – years after revealing her battle with quitting the habit

The S Club 7 star, 48, squatted on a stoop with a pal while lighting and dragging on a cigarette amid her 31 year fight to stop smoking which has come alongside her squeaky clean ‘girl next door’ image

Rachel is seen smoking in Beverly Hills in 2006 

Speaking to The Sun, a source close to the singer said: ‘People have always had this perception of Rachel as the ultimate girl-next-door…

‘She’s sweet, wholesome, polite and completely drama-free, but the truth is she’s always been far more complex than that…

‘Rachel has spent years carrying the weight of an image that was created when she joined the band aged just 19, and while she appreciated the love from fans, there were times when she felt trapped by the expectations.’

In April, Rachel marked her 48th birthday with a sassy social media post as stunned fans refused to believe her age. The S Club singer took to her official Instagram account to share her day with her 387,000 followers.

In a humorous clip, Rachel could be seen at her table with a candy floss cake as she boasted a big smile on her face.

The mother-of-two then turned her head as she was given a headpiece to wear, which read: ‘It’s my birthday’.

Turning to the other side, Rachel was given a pair of black sunglasses before she turned once more where she was given a long candle she jokingly pretended was a cigarette.

She looked incredibly chic in her ensemble during the meeting with pals 

Rachel is pictured enjoying a cigarette in 2007

Speaking to The Sun, a source close to the singer said: ‘People have always had this perception of Rachel as the ultimate girl-next-door’

During her birthday celebrations in April, Rachel jokingly pretended her candle was a cigarette 

After lighting it, ageless pop star Rachel placed the candle in her cake before blowing it out. She captioned the video, which played Michael Buble’s Feeling Good: ‘Chapter 48 baby and I’m feeling good.’

While fans flooded Rachel with birthday messages, they couldn’t believe her age, writing: ‘Absolutely refuse to believe it. 27 AT LEAST. Happy birthday mama!’;

‘Happy Birthday! You dont look a day over 30’; ‘Happy birthday 48 no way you look as young as you did in Sclub 7’;

‘Happy birthday Rachel always been my idol since I was little so thank you!’; ‘Happy birthday rach! wishing you the best year ahead, and many more. love you so much queen’.

Rachel is seen with bandmates Tina Barrett, Paul Cattermole, Jo O’Meara, Hannah Spearritt, Bradley McIntosh, and Jon Lee at the S Club 7 photocall in LA in 1999

She was seen chatting to her pal while smoking the roll up

She clutched the key to her Mini Cooper as she finished her cigarette 

Rachel announced she had separated from her childhood sweetheart, Alex, in July 2022, just one month shy of their 13-year anniversary.

She then split from Dancing On Ice’s Brendyn Hatfield last October after three years together.

Rachel previously admitted she struggled to come to terms with the end of her previous relationship because she buried her feelings.

Speaking to HELLO!’s Second Act podcast, Rachel explained: ‘From some days to the next, some days you feel empowered, you feel like: ‘Yes, I’ve got this’ and then other days you feel like you just wanna cry under the duvet and hide.

‘I went from being married and then went into another long relationship, and I don’t know if I actually fully grieved the loss of my marriage. I constantly felt like my nervous system was on fight or flight.’