BILLIE’S HEARTBREAK Billie Piper splits from long-term boyfriend Johnny Lloyd & father of daughter after ‘relationship ran its course’

 Actress Billie Piper has split from her rocker partner Johnny Lloyd after eight years, The Sun on Sunday can reveal.

The 41-year-old former Doctor Who star and the 38-year-old singer have a five-year-old daughter.

"The relationship ran its course," a source said.

Former Doctor Who star Billie was previously married to DJ Chris Evans, who is 17 years her senior, and actor-turned-political activist Laurence Fox, 45, with whom she has two sons.

A source revealed that Billie and Johnny split last year, adding: “It's obviously very sad that the pair have gone their separate ways.

“But the relationship ran its course and they decided it was better to separate.

“Like many couples, lockdown was tough on them, so they had time to really think about what they wanted their future to be like.

“They will always remember the time they spent together and have many happy memories.

"They are now focused on co-parenting their daughter and their separate careers."

'His career is going from strength to strength'

Photos from Billy's latest role in this spring's award-winning Netflix film Scoop were released last week.

Billie plays Sam McAllister, the telly producer who secured Prince Andrew's infamous Newsnight interview in 2019.

Meanwhile, Newcastle-born Jonny, who spent time in LA writing soundtracks for Netflix and TV shows, is touring the UK with his band Tribes.

The source added: “Johnny has thrown himself back into music, while Billie's acting career continues to go from strength to strength.

“Everyone is being very mature about it and making the transition as smooth as possible.”

In the past, Billie has acknowledged the problematic relationships that have inspired her work, while Jonny has stated how "amazing" she is.

Billie's 2019 film Rare Beasts, which she wrote, directed, and starred in, features an obnoxious male character, which some suggested was based on her former Fox.

He denied this in a 2021 interview. But Billie, who played a strung-out celebrity in the comedy drama series I Hate Suzie, said: “I know about dysfunctional relationships. I know what it costs to be a woman.

“So I can sit comfortably in all of those things and say, yes, all of those experiences have informed my work.

"But it's not like I was her, and he was he." In 2016, she and Johnny met at the Boogaloo pub in Highgate, north London.

Opening up about the love affair, Johnny said in 2019: “It was a big romance. If you meet someone like that it amazes you. This was the one I wanted to be with. Every day she inspires me.

“I can't emphasize enough how talented I am about him.

“I was a little lost at first, but seeing what she can accomplish in a day, how many meetings she takes and how she leads her life inspires me to work harder.

“She doesn't wait and see what things happen, she goes out and gets them. That's why she's so successful. This is astonishing. She is ambitious, we both are.”

Jonny featured a heavily pregnant Billie holding her child on the cover of his 2019 solo album, Next Episode Starts in 15 Seconds.

He described how his partner has improved his life "in many ways".

he challenged me

The singer said: “He challenged me. She kept asking me questions, 'What is your five-year plan?'

"Where are you going musically?" And told me that I have to be accountable for whatever I did.

“I felt like my mind was just thinking 'next job, next tour' and I wanted to keep talking to her.

“Luckily he felt the same way about me. She has made my life better in so many ways and I feel like now I know who I am, I know what I can do, I know where I want to be. And he is with her.

Raised in Swindon, Billy attended the Sylvia Young Theater School in London and landed a place in ITV children's show Scratchy & Co.

At the age of 14 she got a record deal and went on tour. Billie rose to fame at the age of 15 when she became the youngest artist to debut at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart with her 1998 hit Because We Want To.

Her success, and the punishing schedule that came with it, led to mental health battles and an eating disorder.

She once admitted that her condition deteriorated after living on "just Diet Coke and Marlboro Lights" for several days.

Billie dated Richie Neville of boyband 5ive, then met Evans on his C4 show TFI Friday in 2000.

Despite the fact that she couldn't drive, he wooed her with a £100,000 Ferrari full of roses.

Just five months later they married in Las Vegas – Billie, then 18, and Evans, 35.

The couple, after chartering a private jet, tied the knot in a top-secret sunset ceremony at the Little Church of the West Chapel – where Elvis Presley married Priscilla in 1967.

They were joined by a small group of friends, including TV presenter Danny Baker, 66, who served as best man.

Billie and Chris eventually left the public eye to travel the world.

'We spent a lot of time drinking'

She recalled: "I felt like I was living my university years or something – we spent a lot of time traveling and drinking, meeting people I wouldn't have had access to otherwise."

They separated amicably after three years.

She later said: “It was a great time. Learned a lot. It was really needed, after the experiences that led me to that point.

“And I felt like I had really found a true friend.

“I think meeting someone who has experienced that level [of fame] for 20 years was very encouraging.

She had great success as the Time Lord's companion Rose Tyler when Doctor Who was rebooted in 2005 – first with Christopher Eccleston and then with David Tennant.

This resulted in several other roles, including the raunchy Secret Diary of a Call Girl.

Billie met Fox while performing in the play Treats in 2006, and they married the following year.

After having two sons, Winston and Eugene, they separated with an acrimonious divorce in 2016.

She has been nominated for several awards, and in 2017 won an Olivier Award for Best Actress for her stage performance in Yerma.

In 2001, Billie, then 18, married DJ Chris Evans, 17 years her senior, before an amicable breakup in 2004.

She briefly dated fellow Doctor Who star Matt Smith in 2006, before marrying actor Lawrence Fox the following year.

The couple, who have two children, separated in 2016.