Alesha Dixon had to "hit rock bottom" to move on with her life

She said: "When I split up with the girls, I also got married that same year, my marriage lasted a year. So, I'd split up with the girls, I entered into this marriage, then in October 2006 I had no money, my marriage had ended, I had no record deal.

"I sat there and I thought, 'All these years, everything that I've worked for. Why have I nearly lost everything? What's happening?'

"I felt like at the time, there was a lot of changes going on and a lot of things shifting and moving, and a lot of clearing out that had to be done in order for me to move on to the next level, next stage of my life.

"I had to hit rock bottom and that was the growth. That was the making of me. So the things that happened around that time that were toxic and negative, they were the making of me."

The 42-year-old star - who has daughters Azura, eight, and Anaya, two, with husband Azuka Ononye - was "embarrassed" that her marriage fell apart in the public eye while she was also dealing with losing her record deal, and she slumped into depression before urging herself to "get moving".

Speaking on The Dotty Show on Apple Music 1, she said: "It was really embarrassing at the time because Mis-Teeq, we weren't tabloids girls, we didn't crave that, it wasn't our vibe.

" So when that happened, I was really embarrassed for many reasons. I sat on the floor for a few days depressed, not eating, crying, the usual. Then you get that little voice in your head that says, "You're better than this and your life is worth more than this. Get the f*** up off the floor. Fix up and get moving, and keep it moving” …

"Obviously, the marriage, the personal life, that's life. It happens to people all the time, but like you say I had to deal with that publicly.

"The interesting part at that time was the fact that within that same month of my marriage ending, I lost my solo record deal. I spent a year and a half making the album, and they never put the album out and they dropped me. All of that happened within the same two weeks. That's major. Two major things all happening within two weeks of each other."

And despite her struggles at the time, Alesha is now "so thankful" for that time in her life.

She added: "That time in 2006, oh my gosh, I'm so thankful for it now. At the time, it was the worst thing that could have happened to me. Right now, at this point in my life, it was the best thing that happened to me. I'm thankful for that moment."

Hear the interview with Alesha at apple.co/_Dotty or watch it on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gewkTe2tILM