NEVER has the reunion of a girl group been more unlikely.
When the Pussycat Dolls bitterly split a decade ago, after record sales of more than 54million, their members could no longer bear to be in the same room as superstar lead singer Nicole Scherzinger.
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One rival Doll claimed they were forced to look like “anorexic aliens”. Another said they were reduced to being “glorified backing dancers” and forbidden from talking in interviews.
But today, as they announce a reunion that has been four years in the making, the group — Nicole, 41, Ashley Roberts, 38, Kimberly Wyatt, 37, Carmit Bachar, 45, and Jessica Sutta, 37 — unveil a new brand of Doll Domination with full equality.
They also reveal for the first time how secret battles with bulimia, alcoholism and low self-confidence tore the group apart the first time around.
The girlband’s undoubted leader remains X Factor judge Nicole, who makes it clear from the start the days when she travelled separately from the rest of the band and sung 95 per cent of the vocals are over.
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Sitting next to the other members and Dolls founder Robin Antin for their first interview together in more than a decade, Nicole tells me: “First of all, I hope it’s different because WE are different. It is ten years on now. We all bring our own unique gifts to the group. I am so excited and we have grown so much.
“We are here to see each other shine. I think we are going to push each other.”
Nicole believes many of their previous tensions were caused by her serious battle with the eating disorder bulimia, which she felt unable to tell them about.
In the new episode of my podcast The Dan Wootton Interview, she admits: “I hid it from the world. I was extremely ashamed. When you’re battling your own demons and insecurities, it’s not something you want to share with other people.
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“I am just so grateful I could come out of that. It’s our flaws that connect us.”
The reunion talks started following Nicole’s decision to issue a public apology to her bandmates.
Reflecting on that decision, Nicole says: “I think what’s so beautiful about us as a unit is that we really are like sisters.
“It’s called life. We have all gone through life and we’ve evolved and grown as women, which is why it’s great we have this platform and we can empower other females.”
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It would seem like they have put past rivalries and resentments to bed. But the absence from the reunion of one key member — Melody Thornton, 35 — does beg the question of whether those Pussycat claws are still out.
Robin says, “at this time, it wasn’t right”, for Melody but all five members insist in unison the door, “was and is always open”, for her.
Nicole adds: “Like any family, it’s a relationship and you work it out.
“It’s natural people are going to disagree and argue. But we always had so much respect for each other. We never had any knockdown, drag-out, crazy fights.”
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Much has changed since PCD launched as a sexy and sassy burlesque-style troupe.
Their record company at the time wanted them to be so skinny they looked like “anorexic aliens”, says Kimberly, who now wants to be a body-image role model for her daughters Willow, four, and Maple, two.
She is part of the reunion having given birth to son Ford just six weeks ago. (“You can’t always choose the timing of things.”) She adds: “Now I have two little girls looking up to me as we go through this process.
“My message is, ‘You have to find a way to feel good about yourself’.”
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Nicole nods vigorously and adds: “I wanted to say this is a completely different time. One of the pop stars I look up to is Lizzo.
“We are about equality, inclusivity, most importantly — which you tapped in with my issues — acceptance.”
She thinks the #MeToo movement provides the opportunity to be “a beacon of light for women empowerment”, adding: “Now is a great time for us to come together. Women are on top right now.”
Revealing a new gender-neutral outlook, Robin explains: “We used to say inside every woman is a Pussycat Doll. Now we say inside every gender is a Pussycat Doll.”
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As is all too familiar in pop groups, addiction issues played a part in the downfall first time round — especially for Jessica, who became gripped by alcoholism. She says: “The lifestyle is not normal. You’re drinking champagne in the morning on these private jets.
“You get really unhealthy habits which, for an alcoholic, is the worst thing that could ever happen to you.”
Jessica recently married former American footballer Mikey Marquart, whom she met in recovery.
Now she feels ready to be back in the Dolls.
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She explains: “I’m here to heal. I’m here to help. It’s been quite a journey and I’m not ashamed of anything. I’m actually really proud of myself. I’m in a really good place now and I’m with my girls.”
For Carmit, who was first to leave the band, the reunion is a chance to prove to eight-year-old daughter Keala Rose she was once a pop superstar.
Carmit says: “She’s beautiful and so excited. And I’m so excited for her to see what we do on stage.”
The reunion plans include a “greatest hits” performance during Saturday’s final of The X Factor: Celebrity, followed by a blockbuster tour next year. That begs the question of whether they will release another album?
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“Well, we’ve been working on some new music but right now we’re just focusing on brushing off the old limbs,” Nicole discloses.
Perhaps the most impressive feat is that all five members can still do the splits.
Robin says: “The girls are crushing it right now in rehearsal. It’s incredible.
“I was so emotional watching them dance. It’s so hard and they are making it look so easy.”
Jessica adds: “There were nerves and excitement but getting in a room together for the first time, and in the studio specifically, the synergy was incredible. It was immediate.
“We haven’t missed a beat. We haven’t missed a moment. We’re back, bitches.”
Nicole adds: “It was like unfinished business. It was meant to be.”
- Tickets for the Pussycat Dolls’ 2020 tour go on sale from 10am on Sunday at livenation.co.uk
Nic on love
NICOLE SCHERZINGER is too focused on the Pussycat Dolls for a serious boyfriend – despite her fling with X Factor: Celebrity band member Thom Evans.
She says on the new episode of The Dan Wootton Interview podcast: “Thom is lovely but what’s going on is that I am very busy.
“It’s been a very transitional, transformational year for me and I am really focusing on distracting myself with destiny.
“Truth be told, I really willed and prayed for this (reunion). It took a lot of work. The timing was right. It took a lot of focus.”
By contrast, fellow Doll Ashley Roberts is deeply serious about her growing relationship with Strictly Come Dancing pro Giovanni Pernice, 29.
She says: “It might seem quick but for us we really went through the different levels of growing within this relationship and now I just feel like I’m with my best friend and able to be myself, and vice versa, and have that support.”
