Nicola: “Cheryl is like a super woman to me”
Former Girls Aloud star Nicola Roberts opens up to Closer about her friendship with Cheryl, feeling broody and her battle with insecurities
he formed an unshakeable S bond with Cheryl when they found fame in Girls Aloud in 2002, and now Nicola Roberts tells Closer that she is thrilled to be working with her best friend again on the star’s upcoming fifth album.
“It’s honestly been so much fun and it’s amazing that we get to work together,” Nicola tells us. “Not just being best friends, but actually being able to create something together as well – it’s really exciting.
“Cheryl has full control of her record, she’s proud of what she’s done, and I think it really shows in the music.”
EXPOSING SECRETS
It’s been a tough few months for 35-yearold Cheryl, after her relationship with Liam Payne, 25 – with whom she shares 18-month-old Bear – crumbled in July. However, the singer is set to expose the secrets behind her split with former One Direction star Liam in her new music. In leaked lyrics, the one-time X Factor judge reportedly describes herself as a “sucker who falls in love with every f***er”.
But Nicola remains tight-lipped when asked about her pal’s shock admission, explaining, “I can’t talk about Cheryl’s music before she talks about it. I’m sure that when the time is right she will reveal what that means.”
The pair are also close with former Girls Aloud bandmate Kimberley Walsh, 36, with Cheryl once describing the trio as “the three musketeers”.
“We just laugh together,” say Nicola – who’s teamed up with Virgin Mobile to call for ginger emojis on IOS. “By now, we know what each other are like. Kimberley will mull over something and will make sure she’s thought it out, and then you’ve got Cheryl, who is impulsive.
“We know each other inside out and, no matter what, we don’t judge each other – that’s what sisters do. Your own flesh and blood can do something you don’t agree with, but it doesn’t mean you don’t love her any more. You’re just truly there for someone, no matter what.”
She adds, thoughtfully, “I’m just lucky to have that support, to be able to go to two women and be like, ‘Guys, this is what I’m dealing with.’ They’re like super women to me.”
And after Kimberley – mum to sons Bobby, four, and one-year-old Cole with husband Justin Scott, 35 – revealed that her friendship with Cheryl had grown stronger after they both became mums, Nicola admits that she too is feeling broody.
“I cannot wait to be a mum – I’ve always gravitated towards kids and babies,” she explains. “I’m a super-maternal person. I don’t know what it is, I just know what to do. I genuinely feel such a love inside me when I’m around kids.”
She continues, “I think I would be a good mum. My child would be like, ‘This one is crazy, but she’s great!’”
DARKER SIDE OF FAME
But while her pal Cheryl’s love life is headline news, Nicola prefers to keep her own dating life firmly under wraps. She admits, “I never talk about it. I just think, for me, I like to keep it private. It’s unfair to drag someone else [into it]… It’s just the way I am.”
Nicola was just 16 years old when she rose to fame as part of Girls Aloud – who went on to become the UK’S biggest selling girl group of the 21st century, scoring a string of more than 20 top ten hits.
But she also suffered from the darker
side of fame, previously admitting that she found herself on a downward spiral in 2008 after being constantly criticised about her looks, amid a public feud with DJ Chris Moyles, who had dubbed her “the ropey-looking ginger one” in the band.
CONFIDENCE STRUGGLE
“Being singled out as ‘the ugly one’ led to depression,” she said in 2012, revealing in her song Sticks & Stones, “It’s funny, I was too young for so many things/yet you thought I’d cope with being told I’m ugly/ Over and over…”
Ten years on, the 32-year-old star admits she still struggles with her confidence.
“I think it does stop me from doing things in life,” she says. “If I had a bit more of a confident streak, it would allow me to do a lot more.”
But after years of hating her pale skin, the star insists she now embraces her porcelain complexion, and has managed to carve out a reputation for being one of the most stylish celebrities around.
She reveals, “My skin doesn’t bother me any more. It was something that I was really unsure about for a long time. Now, it’s just the colour that I am. Eventually my own idea of beauty completely changed, and I think that really stopped me being bothered about it. I saw myself in a completely different light.”
‘I’m very maternal… I think I’d be a good mum’