Derry girl Nadine Coyle rose to fame in the early noughties after competing in Popstars: The Rivals where she won over Louis Walsh, Geri Halliwell, and Pete Waterman, along with the British public.
The singer, who turns 38 today, secured a place in the band Girls Aloud, alongside fellow members Cheryl Tweedy, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh.
The girl group quickly stormed the charts, with their debut single reaching number one in 2002 and from there they only continued to dominate the world of pop music.
But fans were devastated when the award-winning band announced they were taking a hiatus in 2009 to pursue their own products.
For years Nadine had been branded the 'best singer' in Girls Aloud by Louis Walsh, but her solo career didn't quite reach the heights she may have dreamed of.
The Irish singer signed a deal with Tesco's record label and released her debut album 'Insatiable' through her own label, Black Pen Records, in a partnership with the supermarket giant in 2012.
However, her music quickly was pitted against the other solo offerings from the band members, and ultimately it couldn't compete with Cheryl's album, 'Messy Little Raindrops'.
Cheryl's star had been rising rapidly thanks to her popular stint as a judge on X Factor and she had the power of Simon Cowell behind her.
'Messy Little Raindrops' went platinum while Nadine's 'Insatiable' sold less than 150 copies on its first day of release.
Nadine admitted to Star Magazine at the time that Cheryl working with Simon really tipped the balance in her favour.
"The truth is, I knew I could never take on Cheryl. She has all the power of the X Factor and Simon Cowell behind her. It's a massive advantage."
Things were looking up in 2012 when Girls Aloud got back together to mark their 10th anniversary with a reunion tour.
However, the joy was short-lived as by March of the next year they had disbanded for good.
At the time, Nadine admitted she didn't want the band to split and claimed she has been blindsided with the news via their manager just minutes before the final show of the tour.
Taking to Twitter the next morning, a furious Nadine told fans: "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 & want to keep going. Xxxx"
Cheryl hit back, telling Attitude magazine that Nadine was "full of s***" and accusing her of holding the band to "ransom".
"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," the Geordie star raged.
"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."
And their public mud-slinging was just the tip of the iceberg, according to a source, who claimed it kicked off royally behind the scenes on that fateful night.
"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 insider 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 was bitter and Nadine said the others "didn't like that" she was being thrust further forward as the main vocal talent and was getting more solos than the others.
She admitted: "It's so sad for me to have to admit this stuff now because for so long there's the band, and you want everybody to think we're best friends and we have pillow fights and drink milkshakes.
"That's what I wanted it to be, but it just wasn't how it was.
"So yeah, there was a divide. We're all very, very different characters."
From 2006 to 2015, Nadine lived in Los Angeles and was constantly travelling back and forth from the US to the UK to fulfil commitments with Girls Aloud and her solo projects.
While over in the States, she purchased an Irish pub and restaurant, which she called Nadine's Irish Mist and ran it as a family business so her relatives could come over land live and work near her.
But in 2017 she decided to move back to Northern Ireland and close down the business.
This was three years after the birth of her daughter, Aniya, whom she shares with her ex-fiance Jason Bell.
Jason, a former American football player, started dating Nadine when she was 23 and the pair quickly fell head over heels.
However, after her solo debut flopped, Nadine found herself needing time out for herself so took a break from her relationship and moved to New York.
"I got with Jason when I was 23 and [got] engaged, and I suddenly thought: ‘Hang on. I can’t get married, I’m only 25!’" she explained to The Sun.
"I needed to take a wee bit of time out. So I moved to New York."
Unbeknown to fans, they patched things up and Jason proposed again in 2014 after the birth of their daughter Anaíya.
However, parenthood put a big strain on their relationship and the Irish singer started suffering from anxiety and near-constant worry about their daughter.
"A baby adds more stress to a relationship – you're up all night and it really is a test. Everything changes. You can't just go for lunch or dinner or a drink. That goes out the window, and you're dealing with the serious stuff," she told The Sun.
“I know some people say it made everything better. Like, who are you people? I don't know anyone like that. I reckon you're lying. I don't need to feel bad about myself with your lies. Unfollow!”
And in the same 2018 interview, Nadine admitted she still hadn't married Jason because she felt "too young".
"I'm just not a huge romantic type and getting married is a hugely romantic gesture," she said.
Distance is said to have become a problem for the couple after Nadine moved back to Ireland. Jason is said to have stayed in LA for his career, and news of their split followed in 2019 amid claims they were leading "separate lives".
Nadine continued trying to make a name for herself as a solo star, releasing her comeback single 'Go To Work' in 2017.
It failed to make the Official Singles Chart and she was forced to cancel a seven-date tour of the UK and Ireland in 2018.
Admitting it "wasn't meant to be" she told fans she couldn't deliver the kind of show she wanted.
"You deserve the best show possible and with such big venues and very little dates it was becoming impossible to achieve what we had wanted to do," she explained.
"Everything is a lesson & this is definitely one for me. Thank you for your continued love & support!!!"
And Simon made it quite clear he was Team Cheryl when he made a snide dig about Nadine following her second failed bid at a solo career in 2017.
When Cheryl joined him for the X Factor's judges' houses, Simon urged her to reunite Girls Aloud before sniping: "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?"
And Cheryl and Simon aren't the only ones Nadine reportedly wasn't on the best terms with, as former bandmate Kimberley Walsh also made some digs about Nadine while she was in the I'm A Celeb jungle in 2019.
She commented on how they had a "working relationship" as opposed to a "genuine" friendship like with some of the other girls.
Speaking on Loose Women in November 2019, she said: "Yeah [I was more friendly with Cheryl and Nicola]. It is true genuine real connection between us three."
She added: "With Sarah and Nadine, it was more of a work relationship but it's like family you'd feel for them. You don't see them all the time."
However, it appears the seven-year feud ended after lockdown when Kimberley credited it with giving her time to reflect on the past, and consequently reach out to the Irish singer.
When quizzed on if she's been keeping in touch with her ex-bandmates during lockdown, Kimberley said: "I speak to Cheryl and Nicola [Roberts] all the time anyway, but I have been in touch with Nadine [Coyle] and Sarah [Harding], too."
She added: "Lockdown has been a time for reflection. Nadine and I were chatting the other day and we're going to get the kids together as they haven't met yet."
Lockdown also saw Nadine and Jason spark rumours they had rekindled their relationship as the pair moved in together in Northern Ireland to co-parent their daughter during the pandemic.
"What we are doing definitely works for us," she told OK!. "It has worked, so we’re just sticking with that. It’s all about being supportive and being there for each other."
When quizzed on whether the pair are now dating again, Nadine insisted they are "very close".
"I've known Jason for 14 years, which is a really long time. We get on great. We eat dinner together and have a lovely time," she said.
"He's a great father to Anaíya – he's helping her with school work as we speak. Jason and I will always be in each other's lives.
"When you have a baby together and spend so much time together, there's always that familiarity there. With so much going on in the world we're just trying to be in the moment and be there for Anaíya," she added.
The Girls Aloud members were brought back together in early 2020 when Sarah Harding revealed her breast cancer diagnosis.
In her book Heart Me Out, Sarah admitted she was a "mess" when she was told the devastating news, and immediately thought she was going to die.
Sarah has spoken about how she coped with learning she had breast cancer and turned to close pal Nadine for comfort.
She said she spent the evening with Nadine, crying and drinking wine, as her former bandmate told her how much she loved her.
When there was a brief break in lockdowns back in December 2020, Nadine travelled up to Manchester to see Sarah to share some wine, cook and exchange presents.
Sarah wrote: "Throughout the evening, we all had our moments of hysterical laughter followed by tears.
"At one point, Nadine told me in no uncertain terms how much she cared about me: 'You don't understand, Sarah. I love you!'"
The pair stayed up late into the night, eating cheese and biscuits and talking, with Sarah adding: "OK, so it wasn't like the nights of wild partying I did back in the day, but it was still very special."
The rest of the bandmates also put their differences aside to support Sarah through her health battle.
She told OK! Magazine that the band had "a nice harmony going on now", after putting to bed their rift.
"When we see each other, it's like we've stepped back in time. As if we've only seen each other yesterday. It's such a tough time, but all of us have pulled together," she said.
Sarah tragically died on September 5, 2021 and the girls have all vowed to keep her memory alive.
The four remaining members held a fundraising ball in London in 2022 to raise vital funds for cancer research - after promising Sarah they would do so.
The girls raised over £1m for The Sarah Harding Breast Cancer Appeal and also collaborated with Primark on a range of charity pyjamas to raise money.
Kimberley told The Sun after that they are all closer than ever now after bonding over their grief.
"It is a long friendship, it's really nice," she said before adding: "I feel close to all of the girls, it's genuinely a close friendship where we text daily.
"We are in each other's lives, we know what's going on.
"Obviously with everything that's happened, we're really as tight as we've ever been at the moment, you just have to lean on each other, don't you?"
Most recently Nadine was spotted supporting Cheryl during her run in 2:22 in the West End and before that, the girls supported Nicola Roberts while she was on Strictly at Christmas.
Nadine has also taken part in several TV comps herself over the last few years, including the Great Celebrity Bake Off Stand Up to Cancer and I'm A Celeb where she finished in fifth place.
She also continued to release music, bringing out a summer anthem Fool For Love in 2019 and All That I Knbow in 2020.
In 2022 she covered The Cranberries' classic Zombie to great reviews.
The Girls Aloud star has also been performing this year as part of a special arena show at Manchester's A0 Arena called 90s Baby: The Pop Edition and on the main stage at Mighty Hoopla in London.
