Louise Redknapp has celebrated her new life as a single woman performing a New Year’s gig without her wedding ring.
The ‘Naked’ singer’s 19-year-marriage to her retired soccer player husband Jamie Redknapp, 44, was officially ended at a 25-second divorce court hearing on December 29, 2017.
Louise, 43, rang in the New Year performing at London’s G-A-Y nightclub where she was pictured looking happy and radiant wearing thigh-high leather boots and an oversized black jacket, but notably not her wedding ring for the first time since the split.
The ‘2 Faced’ singer also showed off her naked ring finger on Instagram as she kicked off 2018 with the launch of a new fashion channel on YouTube.
The short clip features a close-up of Louise pulling a polo-neck jumper up over her face and laughing with her ring-free fingers clearly visible.
The former Eternal singer married Jamie in 1998 and the couple have two sons Charley, 13, and Beau, nine.
Louise filed for divorce in March 2017, just after the ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ tour ended
She and Jamie were given permission to terminate their marriage at the Central Family Court in London and a decree absolute ending the marriage can be issued after six weeks should the couple reach amicable terms on custody of their sons, with no objections formally made.
Louise felt things needed to change in the marriage after she competed on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ last year and realised she had "lost" herself and turned into a "Stepford Wife" whose only focus was on running the family home – but she admitted "no one" understood her desire to fulfill herself creatively once again.
She previously said: "I have spent most of my life pleasing everyone else, worrying about being judged and thinking I should always do the right thing by staying at home, looking after my kids and my husband. I lost myself. Looking after my family was my reality. I became a sort of Stepford Wife, wanting to be perfect at it.
"It was only when I agreed to do ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ that I realised I couldn’t just go back to that. I didn’t want to continue running around after everyone else, and occasionally promoting a yogurt or doing a little TV presenting job.
"I wanted to sing, I wanted to perform. I wanted to go back to work on a stage in front of an audience. I actually felt physically sick at the idea that I’d never have that buzz again, that fulfilment I get from performing. And that is when the s**t hit the fan. No one could understand why it was so desperately important to me."