Owen: 'I didn't try to pay off lover'

Mark Owen has denied any suggestion that the money he gave his on-off lover Neva Hanley was to keep her quiet about his affair.

The Take That star has admitted a five-year fling with the 24-year-old accounts manager and a string of other drunken one-night stands before he wed long-term girlfriend Emma Ferguson.

He has also given Hanley a number of cheques totalling £12,000 from his private bank account over the past year, with £9,000 deposited since his wedding.

However, Owen told The Sun: "She phoned me the week before I got married. She said she had lost her job and was going to lose her flat - and asked if I could help her out.

"I have known her for years so I said, 'Of course'. In all I paid her about £12k, the last one just last week. When I have been in a bad way, when I have needed a bit of support, she has been there for me."

He added: "All the other girls were one night stands. On tour. When I was away from home on wild nights out, which was every night. I'm not in contact with any of them.

"It wasn't the girls' fault, it was mine. I would be up for it and looking for it. I wasn't thinking straight. The next day I would think, 'Oh f**k'. It was regret - disappointment in myself.

"I wasn't paying Neva with the intention of keeping her quiet. I'd have no money left if I was paying them all off. None of the [Take That] boys knew about her. I told them about her yesterday. She was at gigs but they never met her."