From Hear’Say To The Royal Palace: The Story Of Myleene Klass

Pop band to palace in one lifetime. Myleene Klass won her spot in Hear’Say on a 2001 TV talent show, turned classical pianist, and then spent two decades on ITV and Classic FM. Her MBE came in 2025 for women’s health work. Not a bad achievement for a girl from Gorleston.

A Norfolk Childhood Steeped In Music

Music was never a career choice in her house; it was the furniture. There were six generations of classical players on Dad Oscar’s side: a gran who sang opera and a grandad who left her his violin. Her Filipina mum, Magdalena, was an NHS nurse. She was playing piano and violin by four and took up the harp soon after. At 11, she won a school engineering contest, the prize handed over by Carol Vorderman. From 15, she went to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, then she got an A in A-level music at the Royal Academy of Music. Her Fandom profile adds that she was a Norfolk County scholar. Early start: at 10 she sang on Cliff Richard’s “Mistletoe and Wine”, the 1988 Christmas number one. Miss Saigon gave her a West End debut.

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Pure and Simple: The Hear’Say Years

Then Popstars happened. She beat thousands at ITV’s 2001 audition for Hear’Say, alongside Kym Marsh, Suzanne Shaw, Danny Foster and Noel Sullivan. Then it exploded. “Pure and Simple” shifted 1.3 million copies, the fastest-selling non-charity single in UK chart history. “The Way to Your Love” also hit number one, and Popstars sold 1.2 million. A Saturday show followed, plus gigs with Lionel Richie and Celine Dion, the Royal Variety Performance and 37 sold-out arena dates. It burnt out fast: Wikipedia counts four Top 10 singles before the October 2002 split, after a reported Klass-Marsh feud.

Moving On: The Classical Second Act

She went back to the piano instead. Universal Classics and Jazz signed her for five albums in May 2003, and “Toccata and Fugue” became the first classical track on music channel The Box. Moving On launched at Harrods that October: Fauré’s Pavane and the Moonlight Sonata beside a piano version of Linkin Park’s “Crawling”. It reached number two on the classical chart and number 32 overall, went gold by mid-December, and received a Classical BRIT nomination.  Myleene’s Music for Romance and Myleene’s Music for Mothers later topped the classical chart for EMI. Baidu Baike’s profile lists the lullabies too, from Motown in 2022 to My Taylor Lullabies in 2025.

Presenting, Radio, and That Tax Row

Telly came calling: CD: UK, The One Show with Adrian Chiles, 10 Years Younger, Popstar to Operastar, BBQ Champ. Loose Women followed in 2014, a regular seat from 2024. Radio is the bit she never left: she started on Classic FM’s Sunday Breakfast with Aled Jones in February 2006 and now presents Calm Classics on Friday and Saturday nights, marking 20 years there in 2026. Smooth drive-time since 2014. She also stopped Ed Miliband dead in 2014. Debating his mansion tax on ITV’s The Agenda, she pointed at a glass of water: “You can’t just point at things and tax them”.

Jungle Runner-Up, Then Jungle Legend

The jungle made her a household name. Second to Matt Willis in 2006, and that white bikini filled the papers, so she auctioned it on eBay and gave the £7,500 to Farepak scandal victims, as her IMDb page notes. Dancing on Ice went worse, first out in 2021. Then 2023: she won I’m a Celebrity… South Africa beat Jordan Banjo to the first “I’m a Celebrity Legend” title. Her £100,000 went to Save the Children, backed since 2012.

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Who Did Myleene Klass’s Ex-Husband Cheat With?

Short answer: she has never said. On the We Need To Talk podcast with Paul C. Brunson: “I walked in on him with a famous person on my birthday on a balcony. It was in my house. It was my party. They weren’t having sex, but they were unzipping each other.” She threw everyone out, his parents included, and would only say the woman is famous for a “family brand”. Graham Quinn, her ex-husband, denies it. Metro noted his 2020 line that the breakup should never have been public. The Mirror picked up her Instagram reply:  “To those that fear its truth, you probably have reason to – I have receipts.” The timeline: met in 2001 when he guarded Hear’Say, Ava in 2007, Hero in 2011, married at Norwich Cathedral that October, and divorced in April 2013. She told The Sun she raised the girls alone for 12 years.

Miscarriage, Campaigning, and The Palace

The part she is proudest of: four miscarriages. Her 2021 documentary, Myleene Klass: Miscarriage & Me, got a BAFTA nomination, and with MP Olivia Blake, she won 2023 changes to the Women’s Health Strategy. That is what took her to Windsor Castle, where King Charles III gave her the MBE from the 2025 New Year Honours for women’s health services. The Royal Academy of Music, which also gave her an honorary doctorate, made her a visiting lecturer in July 2025. She is a St John Ambulance ambassador too, having used its training when both daughters choked.

Life Now, At 48

She lives in north London with fiancé Simon Motson, a publicist. They got engaged in 2020; son Apollo arrived in August 2019, and Motson’s two children make it a full house. Ava is 19 and at uni, while Hero is 15. That first drop-off wrecked her. She told Hello! it was “the most bittersweet experience” and that she felt “really lonely, but also really proud”. She now fronts Costa Coffee’s New Grounds campaign for empty-nest parents, with one rule: be a lighthouse, not a helicopter. She is blunt about body talk too: she told Grazia the word “diet” is banned at her kitchen table. In her spare time, she studied astronomy with the Open University.

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FAQs

What is Myleene Klass famous for?

Ans: Hear’Say in 2001, then classical piano albums. Now it is ITV and Classic FM presenting, plus campaigning.

Why did Myleene Klass get an MBE?

Ans: For services to women’s health in the 2025 New Year Honours, mainly miscarriage awareness, from the King at Windsor Castle.

Who did Myleene Klass’s ex-husband cheat with?

Ans: She has not named her, saying only that the woman is famous for a family brand. Graham Quinn denies it.

How many children does Myleene Klass have?

Ans: Three: Ava and Hero with Graham Quinn, plus son Apollo, born in 2019 with fiancé Simon Motson.

Did Myleene Klass win I’m a Celebrity?

Ans: No, she did not win in 2006. Matt Willis beat her. She won the 2023 South Africa series as the first “Legend” champion.

Is Myleene Klass still on the radio?

Ans: Yes – Calm Classics on Classic FM, Friday and Saturday evenings, 20 years in.

Sources & References

• Wikipedia – Four top 10 singles before the October 2002 split, after a reported Klass-Marsh feud.

• BaiduWiki – She has sung lullabies, from Motown in 2022 to My Taylor Lullabies in 2025.

• Fandom – She was a Norfolk County scholar.

• Hello! – It was “the most bittersweet experience”, and she felt “really lonely but also really proud”.