Cheryl's savage three-word takedown of Nadine Coyle over Girls Aloud split
Girls Aloud hit the road on Friday, 17 May, for their first live tour in over a decade, kicking things off in Dublin before heading to Belfast, Manchester, and the rest of the UK.
At Friday's debut show, there was a special moment between Nadine Coyle and Cheryl as they held hands, whilst performing alongside Kimberley Walsh and Nicola Roberts, during a moving tribute to their former bandmate, Sarah Harding, who sadly passed away from breast cancer in September 2021.
However, things haven't always been so rosey between Cheryl and Nadine, and when the band split in 2013, it seemed like a reunion was completely off the table. Despite Nadine insisting there was no bad blood, things were definitely frosty when the group broke up amid rumours of discord.
Nadine claimed at the time that she had no desire for the split and felt blindsided by bandmates Cheryl, Nicola Roberts, Kimberley Walsh and Sarah Harding, who broke the news through their manager just moments before the final gig of their tour.
Nadine wasted no time sharing her feelings on Twitter: "You should know by now I had no part in any of this split business. I couldn't stop them. I had the best time and want to keep going. Xxxx".
Cheryl wasn't shy in responding, telling Attitude magazine that Nadine was "full of s***", in a savage three-word dig, and accusing her of holding the band "ransom".
Cheryl explained Nadine's motive was to pursue her own music. "She was the one who wanted to make a solo record. Which is why we took the hiatus. She wants to come out and say we broke the band up? No! She shouldn't tell porkie pies," vented the Geordie star, reports the Mirror.
"Okay, so do you want us to tell the truth? She wasn't going to make another Girls Aloud record until she got a solo deal. I feel she held us to ransom and then made her solo record deal. It's the truth. She's saying that we broke the band up. So there you go."
The public spat was just the beginning, according to an insider who revealed that things got heated behind the scenes. "It was really dramatic and there were a lot of tears. Nadine and Cheryl were both fighting their corner and nobody was prepared to budge," the source told the Daily Star.
"Nadine was saying [Cheryl] was trying to control everything. But Cheryl thinks it's nonsense. They only ever agreed to get back together for an anniversary tour and then leave it at that."
The fallout happened after Nadine's solo career took a hit following the underperformance of her album, while Cheryl's career flourished during Girls Aloud's 2009 break. Cheryl had joined The X Factor a year earlier and already had a solo deal, giving her a head start.
While her albums 3 Words and Messy Little Raindrops topped the charts, Nadine's album Insatiable barely made a dent, entering the UK album chart at number 47 before disappearing.
Nadine confessed to feeling envious of Cheryl's success, telling Closer magazine: "I think anyone would be envious that Cheryl has Simon Cowell's backing."
And Simon didn't hide his preference for Cheryl when he made a snide remark about Nadine following her second unsuccessful attempt at a solo career in 2017.
When Cheryl teamed up with Simon for the X Factor's judges' houses, he cheekily suggested a Girls Aloud reunion, quipping: "Why don't we get Nadine for dinner? ...the three of us and we should talk about it. "I mean Nadine is not exactly storming the charts as a solo artist is she?"
Since then, especially after the heartbreaking loss of their bandmate Sarah to breast cancer, the girls have left any past tensions behind. They're now back on stage, microphones in hand, delighting fans nationwide as they embark on their highly-anticipated reunion tour.
