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What would be on most people’s ultimate Christmas wish list-a close, happy family, a loving relationship, a beautiful home, a successful and lucrative career? Well, don’t hate them, but Jack and Kym Ryder have all of the above! That’s why this Christmas you won’t find a happier couple than these warm and likeable newlyweds and OK! Were invited to share the festive fun in their sumptuous home in St Alban’s, Hertfordshire.
The last time OK! Visited the Ryder’s they had recently moved in, and although the house was beautifully designed and had the bare bones of a great family home, this time they had really stamped their mark on it.
The light-coloured fitted kitchen and huge morning room attatched is the hub of the Ryders’ home, always filled with friends and family members, with a radio or TV blaring. And as soon as the OK! Team arrived, Jack was immediately enquiring as to whether everyone had had enough tea-and he made us all a great bacon sarnie too!
Kym’s eight-year old son David’s room must be the envy of all his friends with it’s sea-themed design and Emily, Kym’s five year old daughter, specified that she wanted a pink and purple room and that’s just what she got with one of the most sought after bedroom accessories for children her age-bunk beds. Kym and Jack’s bedroom is luxurious and tasteful, with a walk-in wardrobe and an en-suite bathroom.
As our stunning, exclusive pictures show, the Ryder house is full of bright and beautiful Christmas decorations. Kym and Jack posed for pictures under the tree, wrapping presents, making Christmas pudding with the kids and simply enjoying each others company in their first Christmas as husband and wife.
Kym told us about her first solo album and her true feelings about Myleene’s tearful outburst, while Jack opened up about his experiences on Eastenders and his hopes for the future now that he’s left his role as heart-throb Jamie Mitchell in Britain’s number one soap…
Kym and Jack, tell us about your Christmas day. First of all, what time will David and Emily get you up?
Kym: When they’re excited, they are always up early-about 6.30 to 7am. They’ll probably run in and jump on our beds. Both of them are excited about their presents.
Jack: Their presents will be downstairs by the tree, stockings in the fireplace.
Do they believe in Santa Clause?
Kym: Emily does, but David is getting a bit dubious…
Jack: Ah, yes, but I had a word with him. He’s started saying he doesn’t believe in father Christmas because his friends at school don’t. But I said “If you don’t believe it, that’s fine, but if it’s only because your mates are saying so…” And he said “Well I do believe!” So I said “Well that’s it then. I’ve got a funny feeling you’re going to get a lot more presents this year now!”
Kym: It’s a great way of making them behave-“Santa’s watching you, you’d better not be naughty”. When David was younger I’d get my brother or my Dad to ring him and pretend to be Santa if he was naughty.
So what is Santa getting them?
Kym: They’re getting a bike each. And David’s getting a drum kit and Emily’s getting a keyboard.
Jack: We might live to regret it [laughs]!
Who will be here for Christmas lunch?
Kym: Us, the kids and Jack’s mum. My parents are up north with the rest of the family. I’m cooking this year, which will be interesting. I can cook, but such a big meal for so many people…arrrgghh! My mum’s coaching me.
What TV shows will you be watching?
Jack: Well, we probably won’t be watching Eastenders because we want it to be a happy day [laughs]! Actually, it’s a bit too grown up for the children, so we’ll probably watch It’s A Wonderful Life.
Will you go to Church, Kym?
If the children want to, then yes. I’d like to go to Midnight Mass, but we’ll see. I don’t think they would stay awake and I think I’ll have too much to do.
And what will you be doing for the rest of the holidays?
Kym: We’re going to see Jack’s nan, then his dad on Boxing day, then we’ll go up to see my family. Then for New Year we’ll just be here, the two of us, watching videos and enjoying each other’s company in peace and quiet.
The house looks absolutely fantastic. Are you still planning to give this house to your parents, Kym?
Kym: Yes. When Jack and I aren’t around, my parents are my childcare. So I wanted them to have somewhere nice, near the kids’ school.
Where will you live?
Jack: We’re having a house built. They’re not starting until February so it won’t be ready until July or August. It’s a bit more private than it is here. Here we’re straight off a main road so we have a lot of people knocking on our door.
What do people want when they knock on your door?
Kym: They want to say hello, get an autograph. That’s fine and we do that, but sometimes you just want to chill out, or you’re eating your dinner or something. Sometimes we get people trying to square up to Jack or girls shouting at him: “what are you doing with her? You can do better than that.” You know, the odd jealous girl, but on the whole they’re fans and they’re just being friendly. At our new house we’ll have a gate and a drive so we can have a little privacy.
Do you get “hit” by the paparazzi a lot at home?
Jack: [Both laugh] Yes. Often there’ll be a car sitting opposite the house and we know it’s a photographer. They just come along hoping to get something-I don’t know what. They want to catch us up to something.
Kym: They love saying we’re having a row! When we went to Disney they made up this whole story about the us having a fight. I was holding my bag to Jack-I was eating a hot-dog and was covered in sauce, so I said to him: “Darling, can you get my phone out for me please?” But in the papers there was a two page story saying “Kym has a go at Jack because he won’t carry her bag!”
You’ve been married for four months now. Do you feel different?
Jack: Yes, it does make a difference. I think lots of people, the general public, have a lot more respect for our relationship. It’s not a relationship for publicity, as some people said. It’s been great, people come up to us and say “congratulations”.
Kym: People know we’re together and they accept it. But we still get the odd group of girls wolf-whistling at Jack and I know they’re doing it to bug me so I just smile sweetly or put my hand on his bottom!
What was the truth about your disastrous honeymoon?
Jack: It was one thing after another. We got locked out of the villa, then Kym got stung on the bum!
Kym: We weren’t in the middle of Corfu in one of the resorts, as some said; we were on top of a mountain in a private villa. We caught one photographer in the bushes. Jack said: “what are you doing?” He said he’d got what he wanted and was off, so we thought: “okay, that’s not so bad, he’s gone.” When we saw the pictures of us on the front of a paper we thought that was that. Then, as I was on holiday in a private villa, I went topless. Then I saw the pictures in a Sunday paper and I was a little bit upset, but there was this story that I tried to sell the pictures myself! Anyone who knows me knows I’d never do that. It was the final straw and we just came home.
And hearing about the suicide of your childhood friend Tony Anderton was obviously extremely upsetting…
Kym: Yes, he was actually found the morning of our wedding but I didn’t find out until we were on out honeymoon. I’d lost touch, not because of the Popstars thing, but ages ago. He’d got married, had children. I went out with him when I was about 12 for a week but we remained friends. His sister’s a good friend of my sister. He wasn’t the type to do something like that, he was always happy. It’s just terribly sad. He was a good person; he never sold a story on me.
Why, have many of your old friends sold stories about you?
There was this one guy who did when we were on holiday. He was saying: “here’s my advice to Jack-if you want to turn her on, let her watch you have sex.” I was 13 when I went out with him! There’s nothing you can do about it. The more you protest, the more people say you’ve done it. You just leave it. I don’t blame the papers, they’ve got a job to do. If they’re told something, they’ll print it. With all the Popstars-type shows, people become more and more aware of the workings behind it, and what’s true and what’s not.
Kym, are you glad you were in the very first Popstars, now that there have been so many similar shows?
Yes, because I think there are too many of them now. Next it will be Gardener Idol or something! But the funniest thing is that those people who criticized out show, like Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Pete Waterman, suddenly they’re on the other shows saying their show’s the best. I am glad-I wouldn’t have liked to be on Popstars-The Rivals. That’s partly because you know what might happen now, after Hear’Say split, but also because we had great people on our show. None of the judges were stars in their own right. Now it seems to be about the judges more than the contestants.
You’ve finished recording your solo material now. When will we hear it?
Hopefully my single will be out in March and my album in July or August. It’s quite a happy little album. It’s quite grown up, a cross between Natalie Imbruglia, Avril Lavigne and Texas. It’s got a bit of everything.
Will we see an image change?
I’m not going to be going on stage in tiny outfits with my belly showing or just a bra and a pair of pants! Now everyone shows their belly and wears next to nothing. You look at someone like Ms Dynamite and she’s covered up. She just sings and she is fantastic. She blows everyone away and that’s what it’s about. It’s getting less and less about music and more and more about what people look like, and I think that’s rubbish. To be honest, now that I’ve lost weight I probably could do that but I don’t want to go down that route. I’m not old, but I’m 26 and I’m a mother of two and I’m married.
What do you think of the Popstars-The Rivals final bands?
I was completely gob smacked that Javine didn’t get through to the girl’s band, Girls Aloud. I was amazed! I voted for her, I think everyone assumed she’d get in so no one voted for her. I like Nicola and Nadine. They all wanted it so badly, and I could really understand that. I love the boys-I think they’ve got the edge. They’re talented guys.
Jack: I loved Keith. I got really emotional when he got in!
Do you think it will be a blessing in disguise for Javine, not making it into Girls Aloud?
Jack: When she sang on her own after she was out of the band, with all the other girls around her, she was amazing and she looked different from them. She’ll be better off on her own.
Kym: Different league. It was great for Sarah to get in, because she’s not strong enough to be a solo star.
Is there a part of you that shudders for the Popstars-The Rivals band, because you know what they have to go through?
Kym: I know they are going to be rushed off their feet! The first year will be crazy and they’ll take a lot of stick because the papers seem to be coming down harder on these shows now. They seem to take and instant dislike to people who were made in this way. I think it’s unfair.
Last time we spoke, Jack, you had heard some of Kym’s new material. Have you heard the whole album now?
Yes I have. I’m your typical non-pop person but I will listen to her stuff because it’s so good.
Would you be honest about it if you didn’t like it?
Kym: [laughs] Yes he would-he has!
Jack: I’ve said if I didn’t think a song was good enough for an album.
Kym: If he says it’s crap I know its crap. I know he’s just being honest. He’s not criticizing me or my voice. There’s going to be lots of people out there who are going to say worse things.
What happens if your album is a flop, Kym?
Then I try again. And again. And again. A lot of people think I’m not doing anything, but I’ve been working hard on this-I wanted to get every song right.
Myleene’s tearful appearance on the Frank Skinner show shortly after Hear ‘Say’s split revealed a more softer side to her. Would you ever get together with her now after all this time of not speaking?
Yes - you know, if she wants to talk that’s fine. I would chat to her but I don’t think we could ever be great friends.
And the others from Hear’Say?
The boys-I love them. I think they’ve been totally disillusioned by the whole thing. They didn’t deserve the criticism. They took a lot of flak after I’d gone that they really didn’t deserve.
Should Hear’Say have dusted themselves off and kept at it?
I thought they would have. I know how determined they were, how together they were, which was part of the problem-I felt so out of it because they were so close as a group. I thought they’d pick themselves up and carry on. It’s quite sad, actually. I was totally shocked to be honest.
Have your children ever said to you “Mummy, we missed you when you were in Hear’Say”?
No. My daughter was two when I got in the house so she doesn’t really remember it-and I did see an awful lot of them when I was in the band, despite what people say. David said to me: “mum, remember before Popstars when we didn’t have a penny? Now look what we’ve got!” He appreciates it. He knows Mum goes to work so we can afford a nice house and stuff. They’re very grounded.
Jack, how’s your career going now you’ve left Eastenders?
I’m a decorator now! “Jack Ryder and Sons”, decorators from St Albans. No, I’ve been seeing lots of casting directors for lots of different things. I’m being very choosy.
Kym: You’re doing what I did. Being careful and not just taking whatever comes along.
Does it seem strange at all to not be flat out going to work every day, Jack?
I’m not used to it yet. I’m like, hang on a minute, aren’t I supposed to be somewhere?
Was it emotional for you when you left Eastenders?
I didn’t get upset when I left; I’d done gone through that when I made the decision to leave. I was upset over how I was written out. It is still a really happy place to work, but it began to feel more separate between certain cast members. I know everyone was completely shocked to hear that Dean was leaving. He was told the character wasn’t working, but take him out of that green outfit and get him a storyline!
Do you have any regrets about leaving the show?
I got a lot out of Eastenders-I got good money and good experience, but I want more than that now. You know everyone there, you know your character. That’s not a bad thing, but I simply want more. I don’t want to be getting engaged to Sonia, then having an affair, then having a fight with Phil Mitchell forever!
Do you think you will miss the Eastenders cast?
Yes, Natalie [Cassidy, who plays Sonia], Steve[McFadden, who plays Phil] and Dean [Gaffney, who plays Robbie], who was the only one who turned up at 7am for my final scenes. I miss them all already.
Is it true that you had your hair shaved off as a symbolic end to your stint on the soap?
Yes, it was the day I left. I’d had the same haircut and highlights since I was 13! I asked for a skinhead ages ago and they said no, then David Beckham got his and they said “okay do it”. But I thought, I’m not doing it to look like David Beckham. And guess who did it with a pair of clippers?
Kym: Guilty! [laughs]
Are you going to keep it like that?
No I’m growing it, but it’s great to get up in a morning and not have to bother with it.
Getting back to Christmas, what is Santa getting you both?
Jack: Well, we’re not going to go crazy. There won’t be any Porches in the driveway with huge ribbons around them!
Kym: I got Jack this gorgeous guitar for his birthday and he got me an eternity ring, so it’ll just be a few bits. It’s out first Christmas together and next year is a year of new beginnings so what I’d really like is successful careers for us both, with maybe the odd number one record!
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