They’re widely rumoured to have clashed during their Girls Aloud days and are no longer in touch since the band went their separate ways.
But Nadine Coyle handled tricky questions about her former bandmate Cheryl like a pro during her appearance on Thursday’s episode of Loose Women, insisting there is no bad blood between them.
Put on the spot and asked what she would say if she were in the same room as the pop princess, Nadine laughed and replied, ‘Say hello!’
‘I’d say, “Hello, how are you doing?!’ She has a young baby, I have a daughter. I know what it’s like when they’re that age.’
Nadine was also quizzed about whether being in a girl band was a catty experience, and while she insisted they never physically fought, she hinted things weren’t always harmonious.
‘When you’re part of the group, girls get the bad reputation, boys are just as bad. Boys will want to fight it out’, she began.
Asked whether they had physically fought, Nadine replied: ‘No way! No way! That’s definitely not in my personality.’
But recalling her days in the girl group – formed on ITV talent show Popstars: The Rivals in 2002 – Nadine explained: ‘You’re so buys, so young.
Barbed comment: Cheryl took a swipe at Girls Aloud, during her triumphant TV comeback at The X Factor’s Judges House stage on Sunday
‘It’s so difficult not to be overwhelmed by everything. And everything was going so well. Our first song was Number One for a month.
‘The music I just loved, the shows… That kind of overweighed… everything else wasn’t important’.
Nadine’s appearance on Loose Women caused a stir with viewers at home, who were thrilled to see the Northern Irish beauty making a musical comeback.
However, it seemed there were some communication issues since Twitter was awash with comments about not being able to understand her bizarre accent.
Derry-born Nadine has been living in Los Angeles for the last eight years with her family, and had picked up a strange twang.
Nadine previously claimed that bitterness and jealousy over her lead vocals led to fractious relations in Girls Aloud.
And Cheryl added fuel to the fire as she took a swipe at the chart-topping band during her triumphant TV comeback at The X Factor’s Judges House stage on Sunday.
The singer, 34, made the barb during a chat with the new unnamed six part girl group, when she asked them if they had been spending a lot of time together.
Number one: The singer, 34, made the barb during a chat with the new unnamed six part girl group, when she asked them if they had been spending a lot of time together (above with bandmates Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts, Nadine Coyle, and Kimberley Walsh
Member Lydia Calvin said: ‘It’s not been easy. It’s quite difficult.’
Appearing to refer to her time with the Sound of the Underground hitmakers, Cheryl responded: ‘I know that feeling.’
Since Girls Aloud split in 2013, Cheryl has remained BFFs with bandmates Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh, but drifted apart from Nadine and Sarah Harding.
In a candid interview with The Sun in September Nadine said tensions had surfaced over her abundance of lead vocals, saying: ‘It was fine at the start but there’s always politics in any band. It just happened that I always got more vocals than everybody else, so in terms of people wanting their voice heard, that wasn’t happening.
No holds barred: Member Lydia Calvin said: ‘It’s not been easy. It’s quite difficult.’ Appearing to refer to her time with the Sound of the Underground hitmakers, Cheryl responded: ‘I know that feeling’
‘It made people, very bitter. They didn’t like that. 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, you know, drink milkshakes.
‘That’s what I wanted it to be. I really, really wanted that to be, but it just wasn’t how it was. We’re all very, very different characters.’
While it didn’t appear to matter for the likes of the Spice Girls – who thrived on each girl’s individuality – Nadine retains that their differences led to the eventual split in 2013 – a decision made on the final night of their ten year anniversary tour.
Girls Aloud were formed on talent show Popstars: The Rivals in 2002 and achieved 22 Top 40 singles, six UK tours, five studio albums and gained the Christmas number one spot with their debut track Sound Of The Underground.
Not friends forever: Since Girls Aloud split in 2013, Cheryl has remained BFFs with bandmates Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh, but drifted apart from Nadine and Sarah Harding
Claim: In a candid interview with The Sun in September Nadine said tensions had surfaced over her abundance of lead vocals, saying: ‘It was fine at the start but there’s always politics in any band. It just happened that I always got more vocals than everybody else, so in terms of people wanting their voice heard, that wasn’t happening’