After years of living the bachelor lifestyle, Olly Murs is finally ready to settle down. The popular singer is currently busy planning his 2023 wedding to fiancée Amelia Tank and excitedly tells OK! he can’t wait to start a family.
“I am a grown up now,” he smiles. “We’re getting married, I’ve got a dog, then I’ll hopefully be a dad at some point. That’d be nice.”
The Essex boy, 38, first met fitness fanatic Amelia, 30, at the gym in 2019. After a brief period of dating they split due to Olly feeling “all over the place”, but he soon realised he’d made a terrible mistake and that Amelia was The One.
“I had an epiphany. I was like, ‘What am I doing? She’s perfect, she’s the one for me,” he says.
The couple rekindled their romance shortly after and, in June this year, Olly got down on one knee and proposed during a romantic break in Cornwall.
He says he knew he wanted to marry Amelia after she helped him through some of his darkest times, including the death of his friend and former The X Factor co-host, Caroline Flack, in February 2020. She was also at his side after knee surgery earlier this year left him unable to walk for 12 weeks.
As well as getting his love life back on track, Olly’s pop career is also set to blossom again. The singer, who shot to fame on The X Factor back in 2009, took a four-year break from music, but is now back with a bang. His seventh album, the appropriately titled Marry Me, has just been released.
“After I proposed, Marry Me was the perfect name to call the album,” he says. “It’s bold, it’s a statement and it’s got people talking about it. For me, it was a great title and it works.”
Here, Olly talks weddings, his love/hate relationship with alcohol and what he does to lift his spirits when he’s feeling down…
Hi, Olly. How are your wedding plans coming along?
Wedding plans are in full flow. God only knows what we’re going to do, where it’s going to be, but we’re getting there. It’s stressful. [Amelia] told me the other day, “I never planned my wedding.” Most women have already planned what their wedding is going to be like. She is on it now. She’s like, “I now know exactly what I want.” So we’re getting there. We’re working together as a team.
So is Amelia doing most of the organising then?
Yeah, all I am doing is signing cheques. I’m the one who is paying for it – that’s all I’m doing!
You were a bachelor for so long. Does getting married feel like a big leap into adulthood?
Yeah, I think it’s the next stage of my life. I was just one of the lads, a bit of a boy-next-door. I never quite found the love of my life. I was a bit lost. Now I’ve come full circle. Who knows what the
future holds? But right now, at this present moment, everything’s great. I’m very happy.
Were you nervous when you proposed?
Oh my God, I was so nervous. It was so daunting, even though I knew she was going to say yes. I’m glad to have done it. When you’re proposing to anyone, you feel like it’s a real moment. But I’m so happy that I did it and it went really well.
Did you instantly know you were a good match when you first met?
Yeah, I wrote about it in the song I Found Her on the new album. If you’re in love and you’re happy and life’s great, there’s a moment of like, “Even if the world was falling around us right now, I found you.
I managed to meet you. And whatever happens now, I would be happy dying by your side.” That’s kind of what I Found Her is about, just that pure joy that I’ve found this person. I’m really happy. It’s a huge, big song – it hits you right in the chest. It’s like being on a roller-coaster.
It’s been four years since your last album, You Know I Know. Did your energy levels drop after that?
I just felt like I’d done so much. I wasn’t happy in my life at the time, so I wasn’t bothered about music. Sometimes you need to come away from something you love and learn to love it again. Then you go, “Right, this is why I love it.” As soon as I vocalled the first song we did, I was like, “Oh yeah, I’m back now. I’m feeling good.”
Does happiness in your work go hand-in-hand with feeling content in the rest of your life?
Yeah. Falling in love with Amelia definitely had such a positive impact on my life. It’s helped me so much – just feeling like there’s someone there for you at the end of the day. Feeling that love from someone is amazing and I’m very thankful to have met her. She’s amazing. I just love her so much.
Who comes first – Amelia, or your dog, Missy?
Oh, always Amelia. Then the dog. We got together, fell in love and then we decided to get Missy. She came into our lives when we were at a stage where we were ready for the next step in our relationship.
There’s a song on your new album called I Hate You When You’re Drunk. Is that about someone
in particular?
That was a generic song about being sober for 10 months. I haven’t drunk a drop of alcohol all year. I did it as a New Year’s resolution. I just felt like I wanted to live a better life, be clean and healthy. Alcohol is something that I have a love/hate relationship with. I get on with it, but as I’ve got older,
it’s just caused more trouble than it should have done. I’m happy without it really.
Has it been hard to stay off the booze?
No. I notice loads of people around me, and I’m like, “Oh my God, I hate you all when you’re drunk. Some of you are telling me the same story three or four times.” I’m like, “Shut up, go away!” So it’s not just about Amelia, it’s about loads of people. It’s just that moment of, “I still love you, you’re still my mates, I still think you’re brilliant – but God you’re annoying when you’re drunk.”
You’ve bravely spoken about your mental health struggles in the past. What do you do to lift your spirits when you’re feeling down?
I get out, take the dog for a walk, get some fresh air, go to the gym. I also listen to my favourite music and try to get myself out of that hole very quickly. It’s hard, but when I do it’s great. With depression or feeling low or down about yourself, you’ve got to try and find the good things that make you smile and make you happy. For me, seeing my partner or my dog, speaking to friends, going shopping, going to the gym or just doing something for me is important.
Are you good at cheering others up when they’re not feeling their best?
Oh yeah, call me. I’ll cheer you up. I’ll make you feel positive, I’ll make you feel good about yourself. You’d be ready to rumble after you spoke to me!
As well as the new album and tour, you’re still a coach on The Voice UK and your talent show, Starstruck, is coming back for a second series. Do you still enjoy it all?
Yeah, life’s good. I’ve just finished filming Starstruck. Shania Twain [who’s replacing Sheridan Smith on the judging panel] was on the show – it was amazing to work with her. I’ve got loads of work, so it’s all good at the moment.
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