Alexandra Burke's life now after X Factor fame - TV trauma, heartbreaking loss and new fiancé

It has now been sixteen years since Alexandra Burke wowed judges with her stirring rendition of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah.

The X Factor winner has since gone on to enjoy an extraordinary life following her rapid rise to fame, including a tour with none other than Beyoncé herself, on top of several BRIT award nominations and a successful West End run. Now a 36-year-old mother of two, the Broken Heels hitmaker has also enjoyed plenty of happiness in her personal life, and was recently delighted by boyfriend Darren Randolph's romantic proposal.

Here, the Mirror takes a look at Alexandra's jam-packed life post-X-Factor, from stints on shows such as Strictly Come Dancing and The Great Celebrity Bake Off, to looking ahead to marital bliss.

READ MORE: Alexandra Burke says 'yes' as footballer boyfriend Darren Randolph stuns her with surprise proposal

Career since X Factor

In 2013, the Bad Boys singer left her record label to focus on performing and made her West End debut as a leading cast member in The Bodyguard, taking over the lead role from Beverley Knight. She went on to perform in Sister Act The Musical in 2016, and the year after, she competed in Strictly, where she was paired with Gorka Marquez and made it to the final. Though, her passion for music didn't stop and she released her third album, The Truth Is, in 2018.

In 2021, Alexandra went on Celebrity SAS and was the only woman to reach the end of the gruelling series. She later said she struggled to readjust to reality and had therapy to cope with panic attacks. "I was crying all the time," she said at the time. "If I saw an advert for the Army, I had a panic attack. That side of it was really awful. I did get therapy. I wasn't sleeping well at all. I always thought there was somebody outside waiting to attack me. So I got a bit paranoid."

It was thinking about her late mum, Soul II Soul's Melissa Bell, who died in 2017, that kept her going. "All I could do was think of my mum because I was just like: 'She'd be so immensely proud of me. She'd be so proud'. To have gone through this, my family already thought I was nuts anyway," Alexandra said. "My father was like: 'Why would you do this to yourself?' And here I am, standing here ready to just tell my family that I've actually passed. I'm so overwhelmed. My goodness, it was probably the best decision I've ever made in my whole entire life."

That same year, Alexandra revealed in an interview that she could've been famous from the age of 12 after she was offered a record deal from Stevie Wonder - but her mum rejected it. She said even though it took a while for her to 'take it in', Alexandra stands by her mum's decision. She told Mail Online: "My mum made the right decision. She always believed kids should be kids, to be able to go to school, be with your friends at the cinema and theme park. And not to ever take that from a child because you won't get those years back."

In 2021, Alexandra featured on Leigh-Anne Pinnock's documentary, Race, Pop and Power, where she told how she was once advised to 'bleach her skin' if she wanted to be successful in the music industry. "I remember when my mum used to take me to certain management companies. I won't name them now because they're still friends and that's good, and it's all love," she said. "But when I was 15, they told me and said: 'We've got one black person, we can't have another'. And I got that a couple of times."

Alexandra broke down in tears as she admitted: "They said 'You need to bleach your skin or you won't sell any records'. That's what's so f**ked up about this industry. That's what, at times makes me feel at times that I don't want to be industry. It took my confidence away so much, at times, that I felt I couldn't be me." She also said that she'd been told by some people, "Because you're Black, you need to work 10 times harder".

Love life and family

In 2015, Alexandra appeared on Celebrity First Dates but her date with professional model Louis didn't make it to a second. In 2018, she was engaged to stage manager Joshua Ginnelly, but the couple broke things off one year later. She then moved on with Hull City footballer Angus Macdonald and was with him for two years, while he was diagnosed with bowel cancer - an illness he later recovered from. They announced their separation in 2020.

In 2021, Alexandra was linked to footballer Darren Randolph, and the loved-up couple went on to welcome two children together in 2022 and 2023. On Loose Women last year, Alexandra got tearful explaining the reason she'd decided to keep her baby's name and gender a secret. She explained that, while she had chosen to be in the spotlight, her family hadn't and said that the impact of her fame on them had been "hard".

"I come from X Factor and I'm very grateful for the platform," she said. "In the process of being who I am, the impact on them is hard." As she began to cry, Alexandra continued: "They never asked for it, I asked for it... I want to protect the baby as much as I can." She continued that she would let her child decide when they were older whether they wanted to join her in the spotlight. Opening up about motherhood, she said: "I've never felt so content in my life and I've never known love like this. It's overwhelming and I don't know how to put it into worlds. I'm so happy."

Last year, the star sparked speculation that she had secretly married Darren after calling him 'hubby' on Instagram. But she later confirmed that they are yet to be engaged and 'wifey' and 'hubby' are their pet names. "Let me be very clear about this… I called him 'hubby' because he calls me 'wifey' and those are just nicknames for each other," she told Mail Online. "We need to remind him to put a ring on it... There's no rush, when it's meant to happen it will happen.'

Now the couple have announced there are indeed wedding bells on the horizon, with Darren having popped the question after three years of dating. Revealing their exciting news via Instagram on Sunday, September 19, the pair shared loved-up snaps of the big moment, as well as a romantic video of the venue where Darren got down on a bent knee.

In the caption of the clip, an ecstatic Alexandra wrote: "Here’s to us forever! I can’t believe I get to marry my best friend. Bring on the Burke-Randolph wedding. I can’t wait to call you my husband."

Darren reportedly proposed to Alexandra at the five-star Rosewood hotel in London, and preparations for their special day are now underway. A source told The Sun: “Alexandra had no idea this was coming and was on cloud nine. Darren had gone all out to plan the most special moment for her and it was perfect. [..] They couldn’t be happier to start moving towards the next stage of their life together.”

Looking ahead to the future, Alexandra has previously revealed that she hopes to expand their young family further. During an episode of Loose Women back in July, she shared: “I returned to work two months after having both babies. I love to work. I want to make them proud. My mum did that with us. I'm so desperate for another baby. I would take more time off if I had a third. I don't regret anything but after that first few months, they're basically off the college. So I get why people want more time.”

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