Kiwi chef reveals all about failed marriage to British pop star

Paloma Faith and Rian Haynes married in 2005 but separated less than a year later.

A Kiwi chef has spoken out about his failed marriage to British pop star Paloma Faith - calling the end of their relationship "heartbreaking".

Rian Haynes, 40, from Timaru, tied the knot with the 34-year-old chart-topping singer and judge on the UK version of The Voice in 2005.

She left him less than a year later, dumping Haynes while he was taking a bath.

In interviews, Faith has called the marriage "quite insignificant to me because I was really young".

But in his first interview about the relationship, Haynes tells The Daily Mail Faith left him to focus on her career, leaving him nursing a broken heart.

"I didn't try to change her mind. Even though we hadn't talked about ending it, I think I felt it coming. She'd been distant - it was clear her focus was elsewhere rather than on me and our marriage," Haynes said. "I was crushed."

Faith has gone on to release three albums, including last year's A Perfect Contradiction. She is known for her eccentric clothing choices and is a new judge on the current UK season of The Voice.

But Haynes says it took years for him to get over the relationship. Faith asked for a divorce four years after the couple separated.

He told The Daily Mail their life was "pretty much perfect" but says he knew the marriage wouldn't last for ever.

"Anyone who falls in love wants it to last for ever but the chances of that actually happening are slim."

Haynes says he returned to New Zealand and worked as a chef here and in Australia, before training as a taxidermist. He has only met her once since, an encounter he called "sad".

"For someone just out of small-town New Zealand, life in London with her was an amazing adventure. I don't follow her in the media, I only catch up with her life if I am told. It feels a bit grubby to Google her, so I don't."

Faith is reportedly dating artist Leyman Lahcine.

- nzherald.co.nz