Nadine’s jungle warfare: Cheryl hasn’t spoken to her in seven years
As Girls Aloud bandmates deny nominating her for gruesome trials...
WHEN some of the contestants on I’m A Celebrity quizzed Girls Aloud star Nadine Coyle about a rift with her former bandmates, she was quick to dismiss it as ‘fake news’.
But it can now be revealed that she and fellow singer Cheryl Tweedy fell out so badly during a Girls Aloud reunion tour in 2012 that they have not spoken since.
And The Irish Mail on Sunday understands that tensions between the pair started at least four years before that, when Cheryl’s marriage to England footballer Ashley Cole began to fall apart. Cheryl accused her Derry bandmate of not being supportive enough.
She won the backing of Kimberley Walsh and Nicola Roberts, who accompanied her on holiday when news of Cole’s affair with hairdresser Aimee Walton broke in 2008. The fifth member of the band, Sarah Harding, is not thought to have taken sides during the row.
Sources say there was also later tension between the two women because Cheryl was the only member of Girls Aloud to receive the backing to go on and have a successful solo career.
Nadine was left angry because she was regarded as the group’s most talented singer. The feud between Nadine and the rest of Girls Aloud has become one of the main talking points in the Australian jungle.
On Friday night’s programme, she was seen roughing it in the jungle. She took part in a trial called The Pest Office, during which contestants were forced to put a live critter in their mouth and hold it there for 60 seconds.
In stark contrast, Cheryl and Nicola were guests at Kimberley’s 38th birthday party at London’s exclusive Bagatelle restaurant, where they were spotted downing shots and eating some of the three-tiered cake.
Yesterday, Nadine’s former bandmates denied rumours that they were using a WhatsApp group to complain about her and vote for her to do Bushtucker Trials on the programme.
Cheryl said: ‘We only want to see Nadine do well, and regardless of any differences we might have had, we will always all have love for each other.’
A source close to the band, which was created in 2002 on ITV’s reality show Popstars: The Rivals, said: ‘Cheryl felt completely betrayed by Nadine at the time. She was hurt that she didn’t hear from her after Ashley’s cheating. Then Nadine went public to say that she had been trying to get hold of Cheryl to support her but that just infuriated her even more.
‘As for the solo career, Nadine always thought it would be her but when it came to record contracts, it was only Cheryl who was deemed to be the full package.’