It wasn't just her Girls Aloud bandmates who joined Cheryl as she turned 40 at the weekend, as other guests at her birthday retreat included EastEnders star Jake Wood.
Rather than hitting the town for a wild party, Cheryl opted to head to the secluded Wilderness Retreat in Suffolk as she entered her fourth decade. As well as renting a luxurious country house, Cheryl made the most of her stunning surroundings, as she and her guests enjoyed a forest feast, tucking into it inside a decadent tepee, while also sipping on champagne served to them al fresco style.
The Parachute singer shared snapshots of her birthday celebrations on Instagram, giving her many followers a look at various members of her party diving into a lake, while she filmed them from the safety of dry land. And another clip saw Jake, who she starred opposite London thriller 2:22 A Ghost Story earlier this year, enjoying a cigar, before the actor, famous for playing Max Branning, in EastEnders, was also seen on a paddle board.
READ MORE: Inside Cheryl's 40th celebrations as Girls Aloud stars join her for stunning forest feast
The video Cheryl uploaded to her Insta grid, also her and fellow Girls Aloud stars Kimberley Walsh, Nadine Coyle and Nicola Roberts trying their hand at axe throwing, with Cheryl captioning the clip, which she soundtracked to Beyonce track Summer Renaissance: "As my 40th celebrations end and a new era begins I just wanted to wish all my fellow 83 babies the happiest of happy birthdays. Wishing for you inner peace , much love , joy & happiness... we made it through the turbulence!"
She added: "They say life begins at 40 and I think I believe them. thank you @wildernessreserve for the best birthday weekend I could’ve wished for."
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Jake opened up about hitting the West End stage with Cheryl in an interview on Good Morning Britain, praising her "incredible" performances in 2:22 and talking about how the pair ended up getting in trouble. He explained: “It’s all sort of new to Cheryl, she didn’t know what corpsing was – corpsing is when you laugh on stage. We’re getting in trouble for laughing quite regularly."
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