A milestone birthday is always a great excuse to let loose, and Cheryl needs it more than most, after a difficult few years as a single mum, as well as dealing with the loss of her bandmate Sarah Harding. With the singer turning 40 in just two months, she’s told friends she’s ready to go big – which means a long weekend somewhere hot, where they can enjoy fancy dinners, wild nights out, and sleeping it off by the pool the next day.
“Cheryl wants to make this celebration one to remember,” says an insider close to the star – who’s mum to Bear, six, from her two-year relationship with One Direction’s Liam Payne.
“She hasn’t had a proper, fun girls’ weekend away for years – probably since before Bear was born – and it’s exactly what she wants. She’s looking at three days in Ibiza, or maybe Mallorca or Mykonos. She likes the idea of renting a nice big villa for everyone to hang out in during the day and then getting really dressed up to hit the clubs in the evening. It’s been an intense few years for everyone and she really needs this.”
Top of the guest list will be the singer’s former Girls Aloud bandmates Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. The trio have always been close, but last week, Kimberley, 41, admitted Sarah’s death from breast cancer in September 2021 had brought them all back together, and even ended years of tension with fifth member, Nadine Coyle, with Kimberley explaining, “I feel close to all the girls – it’s genuinely a close friendship where we text daily.”
We’re told Fight For This Love singer Cheryl – who’s been married twice, to footballer Ashley Cole and businessman Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini – is feeling a little nervous about hitting the big 4-0. Our source says, “Obviously, there are some mixed emotions, but – as friends keep telling her – she’s had two marriages, a huge pop and TV career, and become a mum. If she can’t celebrate that – and all the rest to come – that would be crazy.”
Our source says a lot of the former X Factor judge’s new confidence comes from her recent stint on the West End stage starring in 2:22 A Ghost Story.
We’re told, “Six months ago, Cheryl couldn’t bear to think about this birthday. She was feeling sorry for herself about how life had turned out. But after getting all the positive reviews for her performances, it feels like she has options again. She’s on a high and really looking forward to having this blowout. She wants 40 to be her best year yet – one that deserves to be celebrated.”