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The Irish singer opens up about remember her friend – and missing her on tour
Girls Aloud star Nadine Coyle says losing bandmate Sarah Harding to breast cancer has made her want to live life to the fullest. After Sarah’s death aged 39 in 2021, the Derry-born singer vowed to take a leaf out of her vivacious and positive pal’s book.
Mum-of-one Nadine, 39, says: “I just try to enjoy it, because Sarah really enjoyed life. She made the most of so many things. That’s really important. You can worry about so much stuff that just becomes irrelevant. Hold the people close that you love and spend time having fun, as much as you can.”
Girls Aloud split in 2013 but Nadine and bandmates Cheryl, 41, Nicola Roberts, 39, and Kimberley Walsh, 43, reunited for a tour last year, where they paid tribute to Sarah throughout. The shows proved an emotional rollercoaster, Nadine says. “You could totally feel her presence, like she was right there. But when we all stood together to sing I’ll Stand By You, it was very obvious that she wasn’t. It was devastating, every single night.”
Nadine – mum to Anaíya, 11 – particularly loved getting the singers’ kids together, saying: “The whole set-up was more about them – they had everything. That was incredible.”
Joining the band in 2002 aged 17 meant Nadine grew up fast. She adds: “I remember thinking I could get my parents to write a note saying I couldn’t do Top Of The Pops the next day because I was too tired and needed a day off. But you quickly realise that’s not how it works.”
These days she is in frequent touch with her bandmates, chatting on WhatsApp. She says: “There’s one for work stuff, one more personal, one for nostalgia, one for costumes, there’s a few! So loud, so full of energy and opinions! But I love being part of a girlband, it’s a special feeling.”
A single mum to Anaíya – her daughter with ex Jason Bell, Nadine says the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree as the youngster is budding performer, auditioning for a play recently. “She really enjoys singing in the choir and doing plays,” tells Nadine. “She loved coming to the Girls Aloud tour last year, too. She came to 11 shows on the tour, so she really became the expert!”
Nadine has promised to guide Anaiya through the industry if she chooses the same path. She says: “I feel like I came out of it unscathed. So I’d just have to be her mum-ager and go everywhere with her – then she’d be fine! I would fully support that.”
With a shared passion for travel, Anaiya is eyeing up another career path – while Nadine is considering a move to Thailand. “She also wants to be a travel photographer,” explained the singer. “We went to Japan last year because she absolutely loves everything Japanese. I try to expose her to everything. I’m learning Japanese. I have been since we went to Japan last year. It would’ve been more useful before we went, but here we are. I’m going back to do a big Asia trip, too. I might want to move to Thailand after, and then we’ll embark on that journey!”
Read Nadine’s full interview in OK! Magazine, out Tuesday.
*Nadine is hosting a special creativity workshop with LEGO. To watch online now and purchase a ticket for an in-store creativity workshop at a LEGO store near you, visit LEGO.com/CreativityWorkshops for more
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