When did Robbie Williams and Nicole Appleton meet and why did they break up?

Fans are loving the new Netflix documentary about Robbie Williams and want to know how he met Nicole Appleton, his former fiancée. 

Robbie Williams, the new Netflix documentary about the former Take That singer has been released on the streaming platform and is already shocking viewers. Many people were intrigued by the singer's brief relationship with Nicole Appleton which was a key part of the first episode. The couple seemed very much in love and at one point Robbie even proposed to the All Saints singer while they were filmed on the phone to one another. So how did the pair meet, and why did they eventually call it quits? 

How did Robbie Williams and Nicole Appleton meet?

Robbie Williams and Nicole Appleton met in 1997 on Top Of The Pops. In the documentary, Robbie can be seen backstage being cheeky and switching the labels for his dressing room with the All Saints label. This was just the beginning of their relationship which would ultimately end in heartbreak after less than a year. The couple dated for nine months and had what some would be considered a whirlwind romance.

In the documentary, fans were surprised to see the singer asking Nicole on the phone to marry him. Although this was clearly a joke, the couple did in fact get engaged at one point. The documentary showed that the pair were very close during their relationship and were filmed on the phone to one another while they toured the world separately.

Did Robbie Williams and Nicole Appleton ever get engaged?

During their relaitonship Nicole and Robbie did in fact get engaged. Reportedly Robbie proposed after just six months together, but they broke up again just a month after the engagement was announed. They then got back together and engaged again before finally calling it quits.

In the Netflix documentary, Robbie said at the time, "I guess that I’m trying to convince myself that I’m the kind of person that is ready for that kinda commitment." His 2023 present-day self then reflected on his proposal, "I know I'm not. I couldn't look after myself. I was in no fit state to offer myself as a partner."

Why did Robbie Williams and Nicole Appleton break up?

It is thought that part of the reason why Nicole and Robbie broke up was because of an abortion that Nicole was reportedly encouraged to have by the record company for All Saints. 

In 2002, Nicole spoke about having an abortion and revealed in her book Together, per Daily Mail" Robbie Williams put his hand on my belly and told me, 'This baby is saving my life.'" She revealed that after terminating the pregnancy she was suicidal. "I couldn't believe what I had done," she said. "I wanted to kill myself. Afterwards, everyone pretended it hadn't happened."

Robbie later told the Daily Mai that he supported her decision to tell the whole truth in her book. "I was completely behind her... If there's something that's so deep-rooted within yourself that you feel it would feel better to you that you exorcised it and got it off your chest, because secrets can make you sick and secrets can make you feel terrible... then I'm completely behind her," he said. 

He added about the contents of her book, "Obviously, I was gonna come back to England and there was gonna be questions like this asked so I needed to know what was going on with it and it really upset me, and tore me apart a little bit. I had to phone her up and go I'm not in a mood or anything, I still back you. But it was actually upsetting to see it written in black and white."