THE key to a long-lasting relationship is getting hot and steamy.

A new study has found that singing in the shower with your significant other can strengthen the bond between lovers and even reduce the chance of divorce.

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The combination of foam and songs leads to the release of the hormone dopamine, the ‘feel-good’ neurotransmitter, in the brain.

Sex and relationship expert Rebecca Dakin said: “True intimacy isn’t just about sex. There are a whole host of wonderful ways you can strengthen your bond.

“From folding sheets to washing dishes naked, there are many ways Cupid’s arrow can keep the flames smoldering.”

Below, Rebecca reveals her top tips. . .

DRAW a portrait of your partner. Really pay attention to their features.

It can be naked or otherwise. You will see them in a whole new light.

1. Do the dishes together. . . naked!

It will turn a monotonous chore into a bonding experience.

However, make sure that hot water does not splash on the intimate parts.

2. Eat dinner blindfolded.

Take turns serving your partner different foods, textures and flavors.

It can be an exciting sensory and sensual experience.

3. Go skinny dipping – don’t get caught.

Or consider taking an ice bath together, as it releases adrenaline and is a great bonding experience.

You feel completely alive afterwards.

4. It may sound strange, but a frightening activity can release oxytocin, the bonding hormone.

So go on the zip line, watch a horror movie or ride a ghost train together.

When you are afraid, your love becomes stronger.

5. LET your partner shave you.

This works for men and women.

It is a connecting experience on two levels, because it is intimate and because there is a knife, it confirms your trust.

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6. DANCE together to cheesy music.

Remember a hit from your school days and enjoy a boogie and a kiss and pretend you’re 16 again.

It’s a taste of the forbidden and it’s also very hot.

7. FOLD the laundry together.

Not only does it give loved ones time to talk, it also shows that you support each other when it comes to the more mundane things, which will deepen your bond.

As you fold the sheets, kiss as you get up close and personal.

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8. Take a pottery class together and take a moment to cuddle like Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore in the movie Ghost.

It’s intimate and creative and you make something together – all great for keeping the romance alive.

9. Go shopping and choose an entire outfit for each other – including the underwear.

You might be surprised.

It can help you push each other out of your comfort zone.

10. GET an enlarged photo of you together on your wedding day or a similar memorable event.

There are plenty of companies online that can turn that image into a puzzle.

Then spend a night putting the puzzle together and reminiscing about the day.

By Marta Jary for Daily Mail Australia

Published: 08:22 EDT, March 16, 2024 | Updated: 08:23 EDT, March 16, 2024

Billie Piper has finally broken her silence on ex-husband Laurence Fox six years after their ‘quickie divorce’. 

The actress shares sons Winston, 12, and Eugene, eight, with the controversial activist and the pair were embroiled in a lengthy custody dispute after their split. 

In 2022, Laurence, 45, publicly spoke out about their arrangement, claiming Billie was using their children as ‘weapons’ and that he had been denied access to seeing them. 

While Billie, 41, maintained a dignified silence at the time, she has now spoken out about their complicated relationship in a candid interview with British Vogue. 

Asked how she navigates co-parenting with Laurence, Billie shared: ‘With enormous difficulty.’

She continued: ‘I close everything down and keep a very strict routine with the kids so that there’s consistency. I keep them close. That’s all I can do…

‘What is paramount for me is the privacy and anonymity of my children. They deserve not to be extensions of the parents and to forge their own identities.’

Billie added that she tries to avoid hearing anything about her ex, who has hit headlines in recent weeks for a slew of controversies. 

He was recently dropped from GB News after launching into a ‘sexist’ rant about a female journalist and lost a high profile libel case after calling two men ‘paedophiles’. 

Yet Billie does her best to avoid being drawn into his scandals, explaining: ‘I try to keep people from telling me stuff but it’s really, really hard. 

‘I don’t read it but everyone wants to talk about it. Sometimes I have to say to people: “Please don’t bring this to me, now or ever.”‘

While she doesn’t want to spend her time discussing her ex-husband she admitted: ‘Of course I have feelings on that, I’m not dead inside.’ 

Billie added: ‘I’ve had to make some choices and a divorce speaks for itself… or at least it should! You have to laugh because it’s a lot. It’s a good way of kind of soothing yourself.’ 

Despite discussing the difficulties of Laurence she revealed that there has been a ‘positive’ in their divorce and custody battle. 

She reasoned: ‘It’s made me feel stronger in many ways. I’ve learnt I have a lot of resilience I didn’t know I had. 

‘I’ve had to learn the hard way that you can only control yourself and how you react to things. It’s really f***ing hard. I hate that.’ 

Yet she confessed that she isn’t the best person to ask about Laurence, saying: ‘Look, if people want to try and understand the workings of the guy, they ought to either ask him or his family. 

‘Ask [Fox’s brother-in-law, actor and comedian] Richard Ayoade what he thinks, or his wife [Fox’s actor sister] Lydia. They might have a more interesting take.’

Billie first met Laurence in a theatre rehearsal room in 2006 and they tied the knot the following year when she was 25.  

It was her second marriage, following her controversial union with DJ Chris Evans, whom she wed when she was 18 and he was 35 – yet Billie has no bad words about her first husband, labelling him ‘one of the good guys.’ 

Most recently she was dating singer Johnny Lloyd but the couple quietly separated last year after eight years together. They share five-year-old daughter, Tallulah. 

There seems to be no bad blood between the pair, with Billie labelling Johnny ‘a very good man’. 

She confessed in her Vogue chat that her late 20s and early 30s were a period of unrest for her and she felt ‘unhinged and mentally not well’. 

Billie recalled: ‘There was something very, very sobering about that time and letting go of people that weren’t very healthy for me. Unfortunately, a lot of that has been in relation to men I suppose.’ 

She tied-the-knot with Laurence in a low-key parish church ceremony on New Year’s Eve in 2007, after a few drinks in the local pub.

They were married in a 50-minute ceremony at a village church near their £750,000 home in Eastbourne, West Sussex, with the actress wearing a formal, low-cut wedding dress in ivory with a flash of pink.

It was Billie’s former husband Chris and his new wife, Natasha Shishmanian, that made the guest list somewhat unusual.

The presenter was also the first person to visit the newly-married couple’s home, with the trio chinking glasses in a cordial toast before Chris drove to his own country pile, just a few miles away.

Laurence and Billie went on to welcome two sons.

However, the pair confirmed they had separated after eight years of marriage in 2016, and insisted that ‘no third parties involved’ in their split.

A post on his official Facebook account at the time read: ‘Laurence Fox and Billie Piper have separated. No third parties are involved. For the sake of our family we request and appeal for space and privacy at this time.’

The pair were granted a ‘quickie divorce’ in a court ruling that took just 50 seconds, citing unreasonable behaviour.

The actress, was not present when her request for a decree nisi from the actor was granted on the grounds that the marriage had ‘irretrievably broken down’ on the grounds of his ‘unreasonable behaviour’.

At the time of their split, they stated their intention to ‘co-parent their children with the utmost mutual respect for each other’.

But between 2016 and 2017, Laurence and Billie then became embroiled in a lengthy custody dispute over access to their children.

The proceedings concluded in the Family Division of the High Court in December 2017 and Laurence previously claimed that they drained his finances.

The actor said that he’d been forced to put his career on hold so that he could help their children cope with the aftermath of the split.

Speaking in January 2018, he said: ‘I was certainly in a very dark place at one point – at my lowest ebb. I almost felt like I couldn’t go on. It all felt so hopeless.

‘With divorce, you immediately lose half the time you’d spend with the kids. That in itself is a mental health crisis. But, like everything, these feelings pass and you start to feel stronger with every day.

‘Men no longer feel comfortable talking about relationships, and for the men who bottle it, it can be disastrous – they end up throwing themselves off buildings.’

After his court proceedings, Laurence started campaigning to transform the family court system, which he described as ‘unnecessarily adversarial’.

At the time, he said: ‘Actually I feel really sad. The process didn’t need to be so long, drawn-out and adversarial.

‘And ours was quick, because we have cash. I feel the children have been robbed of their young lives. It’s been half of Eugene’s life.’

In 2022, Laurence brought their custody dispute back into the public eye when he accused Billie of denying him access to their children, alleging that he has not been able to see or speak to his eldest son Winston on his 14th birthday.

He penned: ‘It is [my son’s] birthday tomorrow and his mother has denied him any access to see or speak with me, I am using my platform to highlight what child alienation does to families. Kids need both parents.

‘Don’t be the parent who refuses to let their sons speak to their dad, especially on their birthday. Don’t be that parent. Put children first. Don’t use them as weapons.

‘It is so bad for kids. Child alienation needs to be talked about openly, along with all other child abuse.’

But Twitter users were quick to hit back at his allegations and accused him of using his children as ‘weapons’ – which he accused Billie of – by sharing the ranting post.

From Billie Piper’s booze-fuelled marriage with Chris Evans to bitter divorce battle with Laurence Fox… the star’s complicated relationships as she ‘splits from her boyfriend of eight years Johnny Lloyd’ 

It’s unlucky in love again for Billie Piper as she has reportedly split from her boyfriend Johnny Lloyd after eight years together.

The former Doctor Who star, 41, and the singer, 38, who share five-year-old daughter, Tallulah, decided to end their romance after lockdown had a major impact on their relationship, according to The Sun on Sunday.

It’s not the first relationship to seemingly turn sour for the actress; she’s been divorced twice and involved in a bitter custody battle with her ex Laurence Fox. 

She famously married her first husband Chris Evans back in 2001, after dating for six months, aged just 18, with the 16-year age gap between the pair sparking controversy. 

So, amid reports that the end of Billie’s relationship to Johnny was ‘very sad’ and they are ‘better off apart’, FEMAIL takes a look at the star’s complicated relationship history… 

CHRIS EVANS 

Fans of Billie Piper were shocked when it emerged that she and Chris Evans had tied the knot in a casual Las Vegas wedding in 2001 – with just six guests.

The couple has only met a year earlier when she appeared on his TV show TFI Friday in 2000 – the next day, he sent a £110,000 Ferrari filled with roses to her home (she couldn’t drive at the time). 

She was just 18, when she wed Chris who was 16-years old her senior, sparking controversy.

The duo married in a secret Las Vegas ceremony at the Little Church of the West for which she wore flips flops and a sarong. The groom was equally casual, donning an open-necked shirt.

An 18-month sabbatical followed as the couple travelled the world, before settling at Chris’ country estate in Hascombe, Surrey. 

The couple split three years later in 2004 and the divorce was finalised in 2007, they remained on good terms with Billie likening the marriage ‘to being in your university years’.

She did not request a single penny of his estimated £30million fortune, and although citing irreconcilable differences on their divorce papers, they remained close afterwards.

Billie previously recalled how she got ‘completely hammered for three years’ with her ex-husband when she was feeling burnt out from her teen pop career. 

Speaking on David Tennant Does A Podcast With… in 2020, Billie said she had an ‘amazing time’ with Chris and described the relationship as ‘very loving.’

And when Billie had a public ‘meltdown’ in 2006, it was no surprise that it was her estranged husband to which she turned. 

Suffering from stress over her forthcoming stage debut in the intense emotional drama Treats, she was seen making a teary mobile phone call close to the rehearsal rooms where final preparations were being made for the play’s opening night.

Minutes later, Chris appeared, accompanying her to a pavement café where he tenderly held her hand as she sobbed uncontrollably.

MATT SMITH

After her marriage broke down, Bille Piper was seem looking cosy with Matt Smith, who played Doctor Who – three years before he scored the role.

Meanwhile, Billie played the Time lord’s famous assistant since its 2005 revival, while he was an unknown actor propelled to fame when chosen to star in the BBC series. 

Pictured holding hands at a Surrey fete in 2006, the pair stroll together through the crowd, drinking Pimms and enjoying the sunshine.

At this point, the two actors had just been reunited on the set of ITV2’s Piper vehicle, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, in which Smith had a minor role. They had previously worked together on BBC drama The Ruby in the Smoke.

Although Smith and Piper never announced they were officially a couple, a friend who was with them on the day they visited the fete says their chemistry was unmistakeable.

‘They were very touchy-feely and seemed really at ease with each other,’ they said. ‘Everybody assumed they were a couple by the way they were acting.’

The friend added that the two actors did not go unnoticed by the crowd. ‘A lot of people were talking about how good they looked together,’ they said.

‘They were definitely having a great time. Obviously everyone knew who Billie was – but Matt wasn’t at all famous then. It’s amazing to think he has gone on to star in Doctor Who.’

LAURENCE FOX 

Chris Evans was not Billie’s only husband – she also was married to Laurence Fox, who was famous for coming from an acting dynasty, and now for his political commentary work.

Billie first met Laurence in a theatre rehearsal room in 2006, they went on to marry a year later – she was granted a ‘quickie’ divorce from him in 2016.

She tied-the-knot with Laurence in a low-key parish church ceremony on New Year’s Eve in 2007, after a few drinks in the local pub.

They were married in a 50-minute ceremony at a village church near their £750,000 home in Eastbourne, West Sussex, with the actress wearing a formal, low-cut wedding dress in ivory with a flash of pink.

It was Billie’s former husband Chris and his new wife, Natasha Shishmanian, that made the guest list somewhat unusual.

The presenter was also the first person to visit the newly-married couple’s home, with the trio chinking glasses in a cordial toast before Chris drove to his own country pile, just a few miles away.

Laurence and Billie went on to welcome two sons, Winston, 12, and Eugene, eight.

However, the pair confirmed they had separated after eight years of marriage in 2016, and insisted that ‘no third parties involved’ in their split.

A post on his official Facebook account at the time read: ‘Laurence Fox and Billie Piper have separated. No third parties are involved. For the sake of our family we request and appeal for space and privacy at this time.’

The pair were granted a ‘quickie divorce’ in a court ruling that took just 50 seconds, citing unreasonable behaviour.

The actress, was not present when her request for a decree nisi from the actor was granted on the grounds that the marriage had ‘irretrievably broken down’ on the grounds of his ‘unreasonable behaviour’.

At the time of their split, they stated their intention to ‘co-parent their children with the utmost mutual respect for each other’.

But between 2016 and 2017, Laurence and Billie then became embroiled in a lengthy custody dispute over access to their children.

The proceedings concluded in the Family Division of the High Court in December 2017 and Laurence previously claimed that they drained his finances.

Actor Laurence revealed that he’s been forced to put his career on hold so that he can help their children cope with the aftermath of the split.

But rather than throwing himself head-first into his work, he’s had to become a full-time father to his two children.

Meanwhile Billie – who shares sons Winston, 12, and Eugene, eight, with her ex-husband Laurence Fox – told The Guardian: ‘I know about dysfunctional relationships. I know about what it costs to be a woman.’

JOHNNY LLOYD

Now Billie Piper has reportedly split from her boyfriend Johnny Lloyd after eight years together.

The former Doctor Who star, 41, and the singer, 38, who share five-year-old daughter, Tallulah, decided to end their romance after lockdown had a major impact on their relationship.

Sources told The Sun on Sunday that the end of their relationship was ‘very sad’ and they are ‘better off apart.’

A source told the publication that Billie and Johnny actually split last year.

They said: ‘It’s obviously very sad that the couple have gone their separate ways.

‘But the relationship ran its course and they decided they would be better off apart. Like many couples, lockdown was quite tough for them, so they have had time to really think about what they want their future to look like.

‘They will always treasure the time they had together and have many happy memories.

‘Now they are concentrating on co-parenting their daughter and their separate careers.’

MailOnline has contacted Billie’s representatives for a comment.

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.

Billie and Johnny welcomed their daughter Tallulah in January 2019 after it was confirmed in July 2018 that Billie was expecting her first child with the rocker.

A source told the Mirror at the time: ‘Billie and Johnny are delighted. They can’t wait to welcome the new addition to their family.’

She revealed she would love to have more children back in February, 2018, admitting: ‘In my dream world I’d have loads.’

Whether it’s fighting vampires or putting together a chic outfit, Buffy Summers always slays, but alas, the star Sarah Michelle Gellar doesn’t keep all those iconic looks from the 90s and 00s.

“I have a few clothes, but at the time we weren’t allowed to keep the wardrobe,” Gellar, 46, said exclusively We weekly while promoting her partnership with UScellular for the Global Day of Unplugging.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer debuted on March 10, 1997 as a midseason replacement TV show on The WB, and 27 years later it’s still a cult hit. The fantasy show aired for seven seasons and spawned the spin-off Angel and continues to inspire new works (such as Audible’s Murdererswhich reunited several cast members last fall). BuffyBuffy’s success was initially a surprise, but now that her 14-year-old daughter Charlotte is embracing the same trends Buffy once donned, Gellar is doubling down.

“Isn’t that strange?” said the actress. “Then my daughter came back and she said, ‘Do you have any chokers?’ I thought, ‘What?’ Or she comes out with the white T-shirt with the dress over it.”

Still, Charlotte won’t find many Buffy garments in her mother’s closet. “I think growing up in New York City, I grew up in a small apartment, so we didn’t have space,” Gellar explained. Us. “There was never a raise. I never grew up thinking about holding on to this kind of thing.

Although she and husband Freddie Prins Jr. (with whom she also shares son Rocky, 11), now has more space, the wolf pack alum is still trying not to hold on to too much.

“It’s funny even now, I recently did a spring clean and I saved my purses and stuff for my daughter,” Gellar said. “But I’m like, ‘By the time she gets older, she won’t even want half of my stuff.’ So I’m trying to figure out what to hold on to.”

Despite her urban approach, the star said she would definitely keep a memorable piece in her closet. “Buffy’s dress at the end of the first season was based on a dress and an Emmy dress that I wore, and I have that,” she said.

The dress, which she wore when she received her Daytime Emmy Award in 1995 for her role in All my children, even still fits. In 2020, the actress took the plunge with a photo of herself wearing the dress.

‘All dressed up and not going anywhere. “I say we party,” she captioned the photo, quoting her character from the season 1 finale.

However, the clothes will be the only thing her children will see later BtVS seasons. “We skipped Season 6 because they were very young,” Gellar said. “It wasn’t appropriate.”

The Cruel intentions star told earlier Us of which she let her daughter and son watch the first episodes Buffy but ultimately decided not to show the dark parts.

Travel writer Jo Kessel filmed the ultimate polar bear cruise aboard Hurtigruten’s 220-passenger expedition ship MS Spitsbergen. The film shows what expedition life is like, with passengers exploring on foot and in inflatable zodiac boats as they scout for wildlife and glaciers. Plus, there’s exclusive footage of Jo being attacked by an Arctic tern, kayaking at the North Pole’s ice edge and finding one very well-fed polar bear.

There are many animals most of us will only ever expect to see in a David Attenborough documentary, like tigers, gorillas and marine life from the depths of the ocean. 

For me, polar bears were firmly on that list, but then I learned of an expedition voyage operated by the Norwegian cruise line Hurtigruten. One of its itineraries circumnavigates Norway’s northern archipelago of Svalbard, home to polar bears. 

And with the sighting of one practically guaranteed, it was too exciting an opportunity to miss.

The rugged, remote Svalbard wilderness sits halfway between Norway and the North Pole. The cruise sails roundtrip from its capital Longyearbyen, the world’s most northern town, which is a three-hour flight from Oslo. This is where I meet the 220-passenger MS Spitsbergen, my home for the next ten days.

The video begins with expeditioners wildlife-spotting on the ship’s top deck, dressed in special expedition jackets. Many have brought along some serious paparazzi-style kit – telephoto lenses, telescopic binoculars and the like – which makes my iPhone seem woefully inadequate.

On board is an expedition team of guides specialising in the region’s wildlife, geology and history. 

At an introductory meeting, they try to manage our expectations by showing us a photo of three very distant polar bears. ‘If we’re lucky,’ they say, ‘this is about as close to the bears as we’ll get.’ 

We’re reminded that polar bears are dangerous predators, the world’s largest terrestrial carnivore with top speeds of 25mph. ‘Our job as your guides is to NOT get too close,’ says the expedition leader. We’re reminded that contrary to popular belief, polar bears are in fact yellow, so it’s best to be on the lookout for distant yellow blobs as opposed to white.

The video, however, starts with birds. They live in colonies with thousands of them teetering on narrow cliff ledges, many with chicks waiting to fledge. First, it’s guillemots; then kittiwakes. They’re teeny, but their cacophony is deafening. We’re warned to keep mouths firmly shut should we look up!

This is the perfect hunting ground for Arctic foxes and, unbelievably, I film one with a kittiwake in its mouth. 

But if this is hard to watch then the footage that follows is even harder. 

It features an Arctic tern, the world’s longest migratory bird, which makes the mammoth journey from Antarctica to the Arctic every year. 

It’s also one of the world’s most aggressive birds during nesting season. 

They swoop and peck at visible threats (humans included) and we’re advised to raise an arm with a closed fist should one approach. 

The camera is rolling when an Arctic tern makes a beeline for my head. It looks scarier than it feels and, even though its sharp beak pierces my gloves, it’s hard to have anything but admiration for a bird that defends its young so fiercely.

Up next is the ship. 

My mini-suite is beautifully decorated in light, Nordic pine and everywhere on MS Spitsbergen comes with a view, from the sauna to the gym, and from the hot tubs and lounges to the science lab, where samples can be put under the microscope to gem up on the flora and fauna.

Wherever we go we’re accompanied by guides armed with rifles and flares to use as a last resort should a polar bear take us by surprise. 

A few days in and we see seals, reindeer (an indigenous breed to Svalbard) and walruses, but still no distant yellow blob. While polar bears can pop up anywhere on Svalbard – they number around two thousand – we’re told that more of them live in the east and the best chance of seeing one might be after we’ve rounded the top of the archipelago.

But suddenly a message booms on the loudspeaker: ‘There’s a polar bear starboard, on the beach.’ 

Cue a mad scramble to reach top deck for a better look. And there it is – a big, fat, proud, fluffy yellow male, feeding on the carcass of a walrus that has washed up on shore. 

We’re taken out in zodiac boats so that we can get closer and the real-life version of what we witness beats any documentary hands-down. 

With a belly full of walrus the polar bear struts along the beach, sniffing at the earth and air as it seeks shelter, eventually settling on a mound of snow up the hill where he burrows himself in for a snooze. It’s skin-tingling stuff.

Eight polar bears are spotted during our cruise (though I’m asleep for several of these sightings!) but there’s more to the voyage than wildlife. 

Other adventures include wilderness hikes and crossing the 80th Parallel North. 

Not many people ever do this and, to celebrate, the Captain pours ice down our necks. Fear not – this is optional. Then there’s the ‘Polar Plunge’ – a dip that involves complete submersion in the freezing Arctic Ocean. Am I up to the challenge? Watch the video to find out!

Perhaps the biggest thrill is reaching the ice edge of the North Pole. 

From here the ship can sail no further without getting trapped. 

We can, however, paddle. 

A kayaking excursion leads us along narrow channels that have formed at the edge of the ice pack and sees us smashing and bashing at the ice to carve a path through.

It’s hands-down the most memorable kayak I’m ever likely to experience, with nothing but this vast sheet of floating ice separating me from the North Pole.

It’s a cool, active cruise and we constantly need to refuel. 

Happily cuisine on board is exceptional – pack elasticated trousers. 

Cocktails are good too and the ‘Norwegian Negroni’ is a tasty, bittersweet warmer-upper.

It’s refreshing to be so far from civilisation. 

Only twice do we see other people. 

Once is at the scientific research centre in NY Alesund (population 30), which has the most northern post office in the world. And the other is the Arctic outpost capital Longyearbyen, which is well worth a pre or post-cruise overnight stay. Be sure to try the 13-course tasting menu at Norwegian restaurant Huset. Ingredients are locally sourced and delicious, including sea urchin soup with fermented honey.

This is an extraordinary cruise to the top of the world, where the wildlife and wilderness is on another level. But the proof of climate change is everywhere. The ice is melting, the glaciers are retreating and polar bears have started a new trend of eating reindeer when they can’t find seals. World leaders should be brought here to shock them into action. 

At the moment polar bear numbers are relatively stable so my advice is this – if you’d like to see a polar bear in the wild, go now, before it’s too late.

For more videos from Jo, visit her YouTube channel Go With Jo. 

A transgender blogger from New Jersey and her wife have been accused of endangering the welfare of children after allegedly keeping their 10-year-old autistic son in a “filthy house” covered in feces.

Kirstyn Piper, 45, who identifies as a transgender woman, and her wife Amy Plummer, 46, were arrested in Ocean County, New Jersey, as reported by Reduxx.

The 10-year-old boy, who was diagnosed with autism in 2016, was found in December last year in a house with rubbish strewn about and the bathroom covered in faeces.

He later revealed to detectives in an interview that he had been living in those “deplorable conditions” for a year.

The child was immediately removed from the home. Piper and Plummer were taken into custody on December 12 and released a week later pending trial.

A nurse at Lanes Mill Elementary School reported to the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCPP) that there were “ongoing concerns” about the boy’s hygiene and appearance, according to an affidavit obtained by Reduxx.

Upon arrival at his home, DCPP workers found the home in deplorable conditions and immediately alerted police.

‘The bathroom of the house was covered in feces. There were several Home Depot buckets around the residence… containing feces,” the statement said.

“DCPP also reported that trash, empty bottles/cans and recycling items were strewn throughout the residence.”

During an interview with detectives, the child said his home had a sewage problem that prevented fecal matter from being flushed down the drain.

Plummer, the child’s mother who graduated from Kean University last year, said the plumbing problems have persisted since March 2022.

According to Plummer, Piper, who is also the child’s biological parent, had “taken over” the issue and refused to seek help from anyone.

She added that physical disabilities had prevented her from walking too far, and she had no income to hire a plumber.

The 10-year-old reportedly told officers that his parents transported feces in an orange Home Depot bucket when the toilet was full.

He could not bathe because the bathtub was also filled with feces and was bullied at school for his poor hygiene, he said.

Piper runs a photography service called Puzzling Moment and is an LGBTQ activist on several social media platforms.

Until July 2023, she posted content advocating for LGBTQ+ issues and transgender rights with hashtags such as #lesbianpride, #transpride, #transgirl and #savetranskid.

In addition to her photography business, Piper also designed and sold “trans kids” and “trans girls” stickers at local night markets.

In social media posts Piper has shared over the years, her child has been captured at various LGBTQ events with his parents.

In some photos, the boy is wearing a T-shirt with the slogan ‘I love my 2 mommies’ and appears to have dyed his hair in rainbow colours.

The family are also seen in a series of photos from June last year, showing Plummer kneeling and proposing to renew their wedding vows to Piper.

According to Reduxx, Piper wrote a blog article in February last year about introducing LGBTQ issues and transgender rights to children from a young age.

“As caregivers, it is our responsibility to provide a safe and inclusive environment for our children, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation,” Piper wrote in the now-deleted blog.

“By exposing them to diverse perspectives and experiences, we can help them understand and appreciate the unique struggles that people from different communities face,” Piper wrote.

The next hearing for Piper and Plummer is scheduled for March.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office for more information.

KOBBIE MAINOO is one of three uncapped stars being tracked by Gareth Southgate, according to reports.

The England boss, 53, will face Brazil and Belgium in friendlies in March.

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They next face Bosnia and Herzegovina and then Iceland in their two warm-up matches ahead of the 2024 European Championship.

And that means Southgate has just two more games to assess his options before selecting his squad for the summer tournament.

One of his biggest decisions comes in midfield, with Kalvin Phillips struggling for form and Trent Alexander-Arnold currently injured.

Phillips gifted Bournemouth a goal on his West Ham debut and was part of the Hammers team that was beaten 6-0 by Arsenal and then sent off against Nottingham Forest at the weekend.

So the Three Lions manager can try out some new faces in the middle of the park with the European Championship in mind.

Now the Daily email claim Mainoo could get a look during the March matches at Wembley.

The 18-year-old has played for Manchester United in recent weeks and is now one of the first names in Erik ten Hag's midfield.

Mainoo, who scored a dramatic matchwinner at Wolves this month, has made 13 appearances for England at youth international level, including six for Under-19s.

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Although he still has the option to switch allegiance to Ghana.

Everton's James Garner and Fulham's Harrison Reed are also being eyed by Southgate for senior call-ups.

The 22-year-old Garner decided to leave Old Trafford for Everton in 2022 and is reaping the benefits of this as a permanent fixture under Sean Dyche.

He earned eighteen England U21 caps, while Reed picked up the last of his thirteen U20 caps in 2015.

The now 29-year-old midfielder is a key figure in the center of Marco Silva's Cottagers side.

Reed played 199 games for Fulham, including on loan from Southampton, before making the transfer permanent in 2020.

The Mail report adds that James Ward-Prowse is battling to end his two-year wait for a twelfth run-out for his country.

However, Mainoo was initially wanted by Lee Carsley in the U21s next month for the European Championship qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Luxembourg, with Garner and Reed further back on the list.

But the limited availability of midfielders appears to be good news for Jordan Henderson, who is likely to be involved in the friendlies and Euro 2024 due to his experience – despite his controversial and short-lived move to Saudi Arabia.

England are in group C with Slovenia, Denmark and Serbia.

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