They’ve been together for 18 years, but now Alesha Dixon has reportedly split from her partner Azuka Ononye.
The Britain’s Got Talent judge, 46, who shares daughters Azura, 10, and Anaya, four, with the choreographer, 43, is said to have confided in pals the couple’s relationship became ‘more of a friendship’ before going their separate ways.
But just two years before their ‘split’, Alesha revealed how Azuka was the ‘first person that I’d met, that I knew that we could have children together’ – and admitted she’d had ‘toxic relationships before’.
The couple first met in 2006 following Alesha’s one year marriage to So Solid Crew rapper MC Harvey, before the pair split after it was revealed he had cheated on her with fellow singer Javine Hylton.
Mis-Teeq singer Alesha previously explained how the violence she witnessed in her childhood prevented her from building healthy relationships and communication skills.
The singer saw her mother Beverley attacked by an unnamed boyfriend when she was just eight years old. As a result, she spent multiple years working through her trauma to be able to grow.
Here, FEMAIL explores Alesha’s rocky road to love…
The Britain’s Got Talent judge shares daughters Azura, 10, and Anaya, four, with Azuka Ononye (pictured in 2022)
MARRIAGE TO FAMOUS EX
Alesha and Azuka first met in 2006 following Alesha’s one year marriage So Solid Crew rapper MC Harvey (Alesha and Harvey pictured in 2006)
The marriage crumbled following the revelation of his affair with with fellow singer Javine Hylton, who he would later go on to date for three years (pictured in 2007)
Alesha was left heartbroken when her then husband So Solid Crew star Harvey and Javine admitted they’d been having an affair in November 2006. The revelation came just over a year after Alesha and Harvey tied the knot.
Javine and Harvey had met while starring in West End musical Daddy Cool and got caught when Javine’s ex Karl ‘KG’ Gordon noticed Harvey’s car outside her house and alerted Alesha.
Mis-Teeq star Alesha confronted her husband about it and he admitted the truth.
Harvey left their home in Hertfordshire and decided to be with Javine. That following year, Javine fell pregnant with their daughter Angel, who was born in February 2008. Javine and Harvey split in 2009.
In 2022, Harvey explained how telling his then wife Alesha what he’d done was ‘the worst thing he’s ever had to do’.
Opening up on the James English podcast the rapper said: ‘The day I left Javine’s house, it was so weird. I’d left her house and I was driving home to my marital home and as I’m two miles from my house, she (Javine) rang me and said “she knows, she knows” as I pulled up on my drive.’
‘The worst thing I’ve ever had to do is tell a woman I cheated on her.
‘When I walked in the front room, Alesha just said to me: “Do you want some food Harvey?” and I’m thinking “Yeah of course I will.” Harvey said he then sat down with Alesha to watch TV where, ironically, an episode of the Tyra Banks Show about cheating was playing.
He continued: ‘She was there watching TV when she paused it and my heart sank. She said: ‘How long has it been going on Harvey?’ and that was it.
‘I thought she was going to kill me. To this day, it is the worst two days I’ve ever spent in my house.’
Harvey went on to say he received a phone call from his mum telling him to stay in the house as he ‘owed her that’ after ‘breaking her heart.’
He added: ‘It came out in the papers and everyone hated me. I was a love rat. My mental health was like ‘oh my god.’ I went from being in a celebrity relationship and being loved to being hated within 48 hours. But it was self-inflicted.
‘When I went through the madness of it all, and I went through the Alesha stuff and then obviously when I got with Javine, the mother of my daughter, I should never have been with her.
‘It was a toxic relationship and once I escaped from it and I got out of the whole situation, I said to my mum one time, ‘mum I feel like my dad.’
‘My mum said to me ‘don’t you ever say that, there’s a difference between you and your dad, you’ve got a conscience, he hasn’t.’
‘It’s a lot of pressure, the money that you’re earning, women throwing themselves at you and it’s only now I thought to myself, why did I get into a relationship at that age?
‘I’m old school, and, I love being in love, I love the family unit, but I should have learned more about myself and I should have got the s******* out of my system.’
The British rapper met the Britain’s Got Talent judge when they were 21 and the pair eventually married at 26.
During an appearance on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories, former Strictly Come Dancing champion and judge Alesha confessed she felt ‘lost and empty’ when her marriage to Harvey fell apart.
She said: ‘I didn’t eat for a few days. I just remember sitting on the floor in my house. I felt lost, I couldn’t find the words. You ask yourself those questions: Why? What have I done wrong?’
‘TOXIC’ RELATIONSHIPS
In 2020, speaking on the Happy Mum Happy Baby podcast, Alesha 9pictured in October 2024) touched on moving on from her ‘toxic’ past relationships
In 2020, speaking on the Happy Mum Happy Baby podcast, Alesha touched on moving on from her ‘toxic’ past relationships.
On finding love with Azuka, Alesha said: ‘We met 10 years ago, and he was the first person that I’d met, that I knew that we could have children together because of our values, our morals, our thinking aligned.
‘Very much on the same page, same belief system. I trust him as a human being. I knew he would be an incredible Dad.
‘That’s the moment that it felt right and I’d been in toxic relationships before where I knew that I could never bring a child into the relationship because having had those times in my life, as a child that were difficult, I knew I couldn’t possibly repeat that for my child.
‘The thought of having children with someone who could so something toxic or show them something toxic that I saw as a child, frightened me more than anything in the world so it was so important for me that the person I had children with, the relationship had to healthy, their mind had to be healthy.’
Then in 2021, when appearing on the Angela Scanlon’s Thanks A Million podcast, Alesha spoke candidly about how past experiences have shaped her into the person she is today.
The popstar, who rose to fame in the early 2000s as a member of hip hop trio Mis-Teeq, believes that she has learnt a lot of lessons over the years and is frank about them.
‘I do have things where I think, no, I should have made a better choice. I wish I’d made a better choice, particularly with, like, men, you know. I’m not one of these people that’s like, “oh, it was right at the time”.
‘No, I was an idiot. And also, I guess the only thing I could be thankful for is that I’m in a place now in a relationship with somebody who I love.
‘And I don’t think I could be in the healthy relationship I’m in now had I not been through a couple of s****y ones in the past that really shaped me,’ Alesha revealed.
CHILDHOOD TRAUMA
Alesha poses with her mother Beverley at the Nutcracker Ballet gala pre-party at St Martins Lane Hotel on December 21, 2004
In 2021, Alesha revealed that she grew up feeling insecure because of the violence that she witnessed as a child.
The singer saw her mother Beverley attacked by an unnamed boyfriend when she was just eight years old.
Speaking to The Sun, she said: ‘I want to make sure my children are never exposed to things that I saw… I want them to grow up feeling very secure.’
Speaking of her traumatic childhood, she explained: ‘I saw people coming and going, and violence, so it took a long time to know how to have good relationships.
‘It sounds like a sob story, but it really has shaped who I am… I had a lot of love around me but I did see things I shouldn’t have seen as a girl.’
The Britain’s Got Talent judge also explained how the violence she witnessed prevented her from building healthy relationships and communication skills.
As a result, she spent multiple years working through her trauma to be able to grow.
Alesha previously told the Daily Mail: ‘I was only eight years old when I saw my mum being abused, and watching the person I loved most in the world get hurt left me feeling helpless and frustrated.
‘I don’t remember living in harmony and I don’t remember any fun times — but I learnt I could count on myself.
‘Depending on what’s happened in your past, going with your gut can be a hard thing to do.
‘But there’s nothing worse than ignoring your instincts. Instead, you need to have confidence that the decisions you make are the right ones, rather than overthink situations,’ she added.
‘PLAYING HARD TO GET’ WITH AZUKA
Speaking about the relationship on The Jonathan Ross Show in 2018, she admitted playing ‘hard to get for about a year’ (pictured 2014)
Alesha and Azuka first met in 2006 following Alesha’s one year marriage So Solid Crew rapper MC Harvey, following his affair with fellow singer Javine Hylton.
Azuka first worked as the former Mis-Teeq back up dancer before being hired as her creative director.
Speaking about the relationship on The Jonathan Ross Show in 2018, she admitted playing ‘hard to get for about a year’.
‘And then I had the foot operation and I couldn’t walk and he was literally sleeping on the floor looking after me every day.
‘I was just looking at him thinking, “That is for better or for worse isn’t it.” I looked a state, he was sleeping on the floor because I was on the couch, I couldn’t even get up the stairs. If he can carry me to the toilet then he’s a keeper.’
Alesha gushed over Azuka again during a 2014 appearance on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories and said she could ‘authentically be herself’ when she was with him.
‘I don’t have to be anything other than who I am and it’s a great feeling when you can just be yourself with someone. And it’s like being with my best friend every day’.
Meanwhile speaking about their family she told Giovanna Fletcher’s Happy Mum podcast in 2020: ‘[Azuka] was the first person that I’d met, that I knew that we could have children together because of our values, our morals, our thinking aligned’.
And later told HELLO! in 2022: ‘If you choose to have children, you are their first introduction to the world, I make a very conscious effort that my daughters have a very loving, supportive home with two parents who are great role models. I feel a sense of responsibility.’
‘SHOCK SPLIT’
The pair made their last joint red carpet appearance in July 2023 at Stormzy ‘s star-studded 30th birthday (pictured)
Alesha gushed over Azuka again during a 2014 appearance on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories and said she could ‘authentically be herself’ when she was with him (pictured 2016)
While they had been together for 18 years it appears Alesha Dixon and her partner Azuka Ononye have now called it quits.
The pair – who share daughters Azura, 10, and Anaya, four, – are no longer together according to The Sun.
A source told the publication: ‘Alesha’s been quietly telling people close to her that she believes their relationship is over and they’re going to separate’.
‘She and Azuka have been together almost two decades but their relationship has become more like a friendship.
‘They’re devoted parents to their girls, who are 11 and six, and want to focus on keeping their relationship as amicable as possible for their sake.’
The pair made their last joint red carpet appearance in July 2023 at Stormzy‘s star-studded 30th birthday and have not appeared on each other’s social media in recent months.
According to the publication the couple both attended rapper Nas’ concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall in November, but went separately and sat at opposite sides of the venue.
MailOnline contacted Alesha’s representatives for comment.
Azuka also attended Wicked’s London premiere with eldest daughter Azura earlier this week, with no Alesha in sight.
The couple were rumoured to have secretly married in 2017 and she introduced him as her ‘lovely husband’ during an appearance Michael McIntyre’s Big Show Christmas Special in December 2017, however neither have confirmed if a wedding took place.