X Factor star Lucy Spraggan says Simon Cowell will walk her down the aisle at wedding

Former X Factor contestant Lucy Spraggan has said she is getting married and that Simon Cowell will walk her down the aisle.

In a post on Instagram, the singer said she was due to marry her partner Emilia Smith in June.

Spraggan has become friends with the X Factor creator, despite last year saying her experience on the show was like "an abusive relationship".

She said she left the 2012 ITV show after week three because she was raped.

In 2013, a hotel porter pleaded guilty to the attack on Spraggan and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Cowell described what happened to Spraggan as "horrific and heartbreaking".

At the time, illness was reported as the reason for the singer's abrupt departure from the show. She has since said the TV industry needs to change to better protect people taking part in reality shows.

Both ITV and Fremantle, the production company behind the show, said at the time they were evolving their duty of care processes.

In 2023, Spraggan waived her right to anonymity and told the BBC that Cowell had contacted her when she informed his people that she was writing a book about her experiences on his programme.

According to Spraggan, he said: "Lucy, before you or I say anything else, the first thing I need to tell you is that I am sorry."

She continued: "It makes me emotional because no-one else said sorry. And all it took was this one man to treat me like a human being, 11 years later." They have since built a friendship.

The singer told the Sun newspaper's Fabulous Magazine that she and her partner were on board a plane, flying to stay with Cowell, when she said "let's just get married" to Smith.

"One morning, Simon was about to get in the sea and I said 'Will you give me away?', and he replied 'Yeah!'.

"He went off for a swim and when he came back, he said 'I'd absolutely love to. It would be an honour'."

The couple then formally recognised their engagement a few weeks later, with Spraggan telling Fabulous she "dropped to one knee in front of 15 of Emilia's nearest and dearest" and that there were "tears all round".

In an Instagram post announcing the engagement, the singer said she had been friends with Smith for 10 years before realising she was in love with her and that "when you know, you know".

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