Kimberley Walsh has spoken out about the tragic death of her Girls Aloud bandmate Sarah Harding and admitted it has been “really really tough”.
Sarah tragically passed away last September at the age of 39 after being diagnosed with terminal breast cancer.
Speaking to Sky News presenter Kay Burley, Kimberley said all the Girls Aloud girls were still coming to terms with their loss.
Looking back on footage of Sarah alongside bandmates Cheryl Cole, Nadine Coyle and Nicola Roberts, Kay asked Kimberley: “Talk to us about your late friend, how are you remembering her these days?”
“Obviously it’s been a really, really tough year. Tough year for all of us,” Kimberley said.
“We just take it day by day. That’s all you can really do. I think everyone’s got to deal with grief in their own way. It has been really, really tough.”
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Before Christmas, Kimberley said grieving for her friend Sarah was a “daily challenge”.
The 40-year-old singer added she was grateful Sarah got to meet her three sons, Bobby, seven, Cole, five, and baby Nate, now eight months.
Sarah got to hold Nate just weeks before she died, something Kimberley described as “heartbreaking”.
She told Psychologies magazine: “I really wanted Sarah to meet my boys because it had never happened apart from on video call. So being able to do that meant a lot to me.
“That time together was incredibly special, but it didn’t make it any easier.
“I had to tell [the boys about her death]. They said ‘she’s with the angels now’ and sometimes it’s nice to see it through their eyes.”
Before she passed away Sarah spent a weekend at Soho Farmhouse in the Cotswolds with bandmates Kimberley, Cheryl, Nadine and Nicola.
Kimberley said they reminisced about old times and watched a documentary together which they filmed in 2006.
But even though they were able to spend “lovely, quality time” together, it didn’t make what happened next any easier.
The mum-of-three, who is married to Justin Scott, 39, from boyband Triple 8, revealed she frequently checks in with Sarah’s mum, Marie Hardman.
When she turned 40 in November, Kimberley shared a poignant post on Instagram which included a series of snaps with Sarah and the rest of Girls Aloud.
Remembering her close friend, she wrote: “Today is a very strange day.
“We have celebrated so many birthdays together over the years so this feels very surreal.
“I hoped with all my heart that we would be celebrating our 40th's together too as we planned.
“You ALWAYS brought the party and I have spent today reflecting and reliving all the amazing memories we made.”
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