He’s a prince 16 years her junior – no wonder Mica Paris is smiling

Mica Paris is uncharacteristically silent. Her jaw drops and her chocolate-brown eyes bulge in shock. The soul singer is reliving the moment she discovered her new lover was a Prussian prince.

"I was stunned at first, but I'd never be judgemental about a person because they have a name or money," says Mica. "To me, he's just Al." (That's Prince Frederick Alexander Von Preussen to the rest of us.)

The former What Not To Wear presenter had been on several dates with the music and film producer before he dropped his blue-blood bombshell. But Al's ancestry pales into insignificance next to other personal details, namely his age. He's 24. No wonder, then, that the mum of two is sporting a huge grin throughout our interview at her London home.

"I feel really happy," she says. "I know how it looks from the outside, but it's not about having a hot 24 year old in my bed - it's much deeper than that. It's a mental connection."

It's hard not to take Mica's passion for Al's brain over his body with a large pinch of salt. She is, after all, old enough to be his mum. Does his honed body, sexy smile and, ahem, stamina count for nothing over stimulating conversation?

"Don't get me wrong," laughs Mica. "I look at Al and think he's sexy, intelligent and wonderful. And sex is the cherry on the cake, but our relationship is really caring, deep and intense."

To her, age is just a number. And, for that reason, no man should be off-limits. "Most people are obsessed with age, but not me," she explains. "I've gone out with guys seven or eight years younger than me before, but I've also dated older guys.

"I don't feel like I'm any particular age. I feel the same way as I did when I was 20. The only difference now is that I know more. In any case, most men think I'm in my mid-30s."

That's easy to believe. Thanks to a tough fitness regime, Mica has shifted 2st in four months - weight she'd piled on after giving up smoking three years ago - going from a size 16 to a 12.

So did her younger man inspire her? "Absolutely not," insists Mica. "I was quite happy with my body. I was fit, but I was doing too many weights and had bulked up."

With the help of a trainer, Mica swapped dumb-bells for a gruelling cardio schedule and the weight dropped off. "This is the best I've felt in my life," she says. "It's taken me a long time to get here, but since turning 40, I'm finally comfortable in my own skin."

Ask her how Al likes her new body and Mica smiles.

"No matter what size I am, he always says the same thing - that I'm gorgeous. Every time he says it, if I wasn't black, I'd go red!"

Mica is happier than ever

This is the first time Mica has gone remotely girlie over her new man. Until now, she's sounded strong, pragmatic and almost defensive about a relationship that society expects to be imbalanced, but genuinely appears to be solid. But although Mica wasn't put off by Al's age, she admits she was worried about the opinions of others.

"I expected my friends to be uncertain, but nobody's said anything bad," she says. "In fact, my best friend Bridget told me immediately that she had a good feeling about us. That was good to hear."

Predictably, people have likened Mica to Demi Moore who, at 46, is 15 years older than her film-star husband, Ashton Kutcher, 31.

"A few people have made the comparison," Mica says. "But Demi and Ashton are a gorgeous couple and seem sussed, so I don't take it as a criticism."

As well as support from her mum, Yvonne, Mica's eldest daughter, Monet - who at 18 is just six years younger than Al - has given her approval. "She's Miss Protective of her mum," says Mica, who has another daughter, Russia Mae, three.

"But I got the thumbs-up from her, and that was important because Monet and I have a really tight relationship. And she and Al talk a lot. He's good at giving advice."

Mica and Al met at a gig at the swanky 606 jazz club in west London in December.

"We didn't stop talking for about six hours," she recalls. "It was a meeting of minds. I could never communicate with someone who was immature, and Al's certainly not that."

A few days later, he took her out for dinner, coincidentally to her favourite Italian restaurant, Assaggi in Notting Hill. But there were no first-date nerves for Mica.

"I didn't have butterflies, because I wasn't expecting anything and I wasn't looking for someone," she says. "I'm a great believer that things happen when you're not on the lookout for them. I never thought Al and I would be together. I just thought he was a great person.

With her ex Andreas and their daughter Russia Mae

"We've got the same taste in food and he's an amazing cook," she adds. "And we never argue. I can't even think of anything he does that annoys me. I feel looked after and safe with him."

And just to make us even more jealous, Mica reveals that Al is fond of whisking her away on romantic spa breaks. So what does she do for him in return? Breakfast in bed?

"I'm not romantic. You don't need that when your time together is so enjoyable," she says. "I feel so good with him. I'm the happiest I've been in ages." Then, she adds: "I'm just praying to God it lasts."

For a woman who appears to be emotionally stronger than most, such doubt is out of character. Surely someone so confident would be nothing but optimistic? Not quite.

Al's arrival in her life was a long time coming for unlucky-in-love Mica who, at 22, was a newly divorced mum of one after a year of marriage to her ex-husband Michael Edgson.

After that, she spent eight years with entrepreneur Andreas Neumann, 42, before splitting shortly after Russia Mae was born.

Then, last year Mica dated Italian millionaire marble trader Francesco Niccolato, who at 27 was 12 years her junior. But after three months, she ended it, saying at the time: "I don't know if I'll ever meet anyone else."

She says: "I'd become a bit cynical about men, because I gave everything to my ex [Andreas] and it didn't work out. It was a really bad time."

Mica admits she deliberately put romance on hold. "I had many offers, but I turned them down because I feared I'd get hurt again," she says. "I didn't trust myself to be with someone else - until I met Al."

But Mica is putting any fairy-tale plans for the future with Al on hold. She explains: "I'm not opposed to getting married again - I'd just prefer to have a long relationship before that. I never think when I first meet someone that they could be The One and I still don't feel that about Al."

Little surprise then that the couple aren't living together - Mica has a place in Chelsea, while Al has a house in Notting Hill. They flit between each other's homes, depending on "whatever works for each day".

Despite her insistence that she favours such non-commitment, you can't help wondering if there's a part of Mica that fears Al will run off with a younger model. But she denies this.

"I'm not worried about Al cheating," insists Mica. "If a man's going to stray, he will. I'm not the type of woman who asks where a guy is or what he's doing. I'm very relaxed in relationships."

It seems Mica has learnt to be herself - and to be happy. And one way of doing so is by celebrating what God gave her. "It's empowering to get my kit off," says Mica, who a year ago stripped for Fabulous.

"I want everyone to know that just because I'm not a size zero, it doesn't mean I'm not gorgeous and shaggable."

If you don't believe her, just ask her Prince Charming.

Al says: "Our relationship is perfect. It's a meeting of minds, heart, body and soul. I'm so proud to call Mica my girlfriend. Yes, there's an age gap, but it doesn't matter to us. I feel totally at ease with a woman as long as there's a mental connection, which there most definitely is with Mica."

TEAM TOYBOY Age gap? What age gap? According to these celebs, you're only as old as you feel!

29 YEARS: Madonna, 51, and Jesus Luz, 22
There may be nearly 30 years between these two - and Jesus may look more like her son than her lover - but Madge is clearly relishing life with her toyboy. It's her first serious relationship since her eight-year marriage to Guy Ritchie, 40, ended last December. Madonna met Jesus in March when they frolicked on a hotel bed for a sexy magazine shoot. They've been inseparable ever since.

23 YEARS: Carol McGiffin, 49, and Mark Cassidy, 26
After admitting she was celibate for seven years, the Loose Women star met TV producer Mark last August at a party for the ITV1 show. After a whirlwind romance, Carol accepted Mark's marriage proposal on Christmas Eve while holidaying in Phuket, Thailand. She says: "He's a very mature, grown-up 26 - more than I was at that age."

15 YEARS: Demi Moore, 46, and Ashton Kutcher, 31
Whoever said age-gap marriages flop should take a peek at this Hollywood couple. Actor Ashton met A-lister Demi at a mutual friend's dinner in New York, dated for two years, then tied the knot in September 2005 at a Kabbalah ceremony, where guests included Demi's ex, Bruce Willis, 54. They live with Demi and Bruce's three children: Rumer, 21, Scout, 18 and 15-year-old Tallulah Belle.

photography: amit lennon, getty, xposure, rex, goffinf hair & maek-up: wai kan Styling: lucie clifford mica wears: dress, oli.co.uk; shoes, new look; ring, Mica's own

Mica's album Born Again and her single The Hardest Thing are out now. She's also on tour in September. For tickets, visit Micaparis.com.

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