Kimberley Walsh on ‘tough’ childhood, struggling as a mum, and career change after Girls Aloud tour

Girls Aloud star Kimberley Walsh is busy preparing to tour the UK – 21 years since she and her bandmates Cheryl Tweedy, Nadine Coyle, Nicola Roberts and the late Sarah Harding won Popstars: The Rivals. But away from fame, the 42-year-old star is a doting mum to her three sons, Bobby, nine, Cole, seven, and two-year-old Nate and shares the same relatable struggles as any busy mum.

Taking a break from her hectic schedule, Kimberley sat down with OK! for a catch-up where she detailed the challenges of parenthood, her “tough childhood” and the upcoming Girls Aloud tour. Not to mention the career change she could take on in the future following her various and impressive, home renovation projects.

Kimberley Walsh took a break from her busy schedule for an exclusive chat with OK!
(Image: Mike Lawn/REX/Shutterstock)

Having recently returned from a Barbados getaway with her husband Justin Scott and three children, Kimberly kept it as relatable as ever, admitting she was still making her way through piles of laundry. “I did loads the first couple of days [after she got back] and my husband’s case is still sat there and I’m just refusing to go near it as I’ve done four people’s washing already,” she candidly said.

Anyone who follows Kimberley on Instagram would have seen her love for renovation projects, something she’s been interested in since she was a child. “I grew up in a house with three siblings and my mum, who was a single mum and had no money,” she recalled, thinking back to childhood times growing up in Bradford.

She told us that “anything that was done in the house”, her mum did it herself and it was done “on the cheap”. “But the stuff that needed doing really bothered me, even as a child,” Kimberley said. “So I’d be like, ‘Mum, can we tile the bathroom?’ or ‘Mum, can we paint this?'”

Kimberley has a love for renovation projects
(Image: Wickes)

Despite her success, Kimberley prides herself on doing all her own decorating as she shared: “When I finally bought my own home, it needed everything doing, so Justin and I just took that time out and renovated the whole place.” She continued: “I was on a break from Girls Aloud and I thought, ‘I’m not working at the moment so why am I going to pay someone else to do this when I can just do it myself?'”

With this mindset, the pop star is keen to keep her children’s feet on the ground, in spite of their privileged lifestyle. “I’m not saying I had the hardest upbringing in the world but it was tough at times. It was worlds apart from what theirs is. The holidays that they go on, the fact that if they need to go on a school trip it’s just a yes and if they need shoes for school – even those things weren’t a given for me. You didn’t even ask for it. You’d just manage,” she told us.

“There’s something obviously good about having that background as it made me strive to be where I am now and it made me appreciate everything once I got it. And I’m like, ‘How do I get those things into my children? That appreciation and that empathy.”

The Girls Aloud star with her three sons and husband Justin Scott in Barbados
(Image: Instagram/Kimberley Walsh)

Kimberley laughed as she relayed how her sons responded to her telling them how different her childhood was from theirs. She said: “They say things like, ‘Yes, we know! You had to share a room!’ and I’ll say, ‘I’m just trying to explain that this is not normal’.”

She added: “They know that they’re very lucky and they have a lot more space and a bigger home than most people. It’s something I struggle with a bit and I still don’t know what way I’m going to make that hit home for them a bit.”

During our chat with Kimberley, we couldn’t not ask about the upcoming Girls Aloud tour. “I’m so excited,” the singer told us, “It feels like a really lovely thing to be doing at this particular time of life and a massive celebration.

Kimberley will be returning to the stage with her bandmates for the Girls Aloud tour
(Image: Getty)

Girls Aloud won Popstars: The Rivals in 2002
(Image: Getty Images)

“I’m very excited for my kids to see this world through their own eyes. They know all about this stuff but they have no concept of what I was before with the girls. They know all the girls separately as friends, but it really is going to be quite a special time and I’m really excited to spend more time with the girls and fall back in line for a little while.”

But before she gets back into pop star mode, the DIY fanatic is keen to talk about the new paint colour she’s launching with Wickes and she enthusiastically tells us how she came to devise the perfect shade of green. “I did my first paint colour collaboration with Wickes in 2023. That went really well so I managed to get them to agree to let me do another one. So I’ve done this green, called Subtle Sage, and for me, it’s perfect.”

For anyone who thinks Kimberley is just plugging paint for money and had zero input, think again. “I deliberated over it for ages to the point where they were like, ‘You have to decide now!’ It was between two shades but thank God I went with the right one”, she said.

Kimberley said she’d “absolutely love” to front her own home improvement show
(Image: Steve Meddle/REX/Shutterstock)

With a love of DIY and having made a name for herself as a TV presenter on BBC One’s show Morning Live, we were curious to know if Kimberley has ever thought of fronting her own home improvement show, similar to Stacey Solomon. And it looks like it could be a possibility!

“I’d absolutely love that – or something me and Justin could do together,” she shared. “Although, I don’t know if he’d agree to this. He’s not a natural person to be on camera but he’s warm, outgoing and good with people and he’s really good at explaining things. Everyone loves him so I think it would be a nice combination.”

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