Nadine Coyle is ‘trying to enjoy life’ following the death of Girls Aloud bandmate Sarah Harding

Nadine Coyle is “just trying to enjoy life” following the death of her Girls Aloud bandmate Sarah Harding.

Nadine Coyle is “just trying to enjoy life” following the death of Sarah Harding.

The 39-year-old pop star shot to fame alongside Sarah – who died in September 2021 at the age of 39 following a battle with breast cancer – as part of Girls Aloud and after she and bandmates Cheryl, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh honoured her during a tour last year, admitted that she just wants to have “as much fun” as she can.

She told OK!: “We included her so much in the show – her big parts were still there. 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. From rehearsals, to the final show.

“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.”

The ‘Love Machine’ hitmakers shot to fame when they won the television talent content ‘Popstars: The Rivals’ in 2002 and Nadine reflected that she was “so confident” in the early days but then struggled to know her true self as things took off.

She said: “I was so confident back then. I never took it too seriously. I still don’t. I left home, went to an all-girls school, had close friends – I was solid. But later, in my early twenties, I found myself trying to remember who I was, before it all started. I actually asked friends and family, ‘What was I like?’ I wanted to get back to that version of me. I preferred that confident 17 year old. I wanted to get back to that peace and balance again.

However, Nadine is mother to 11-year-old Anaíya with her former partner Jason Bell and admitted she would help her daughter follow in her footsteps if she wanted to because she has managed to make it through the music industry “unscathed”.

She said: “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.”