‘I'll renew my vows just to have a big party!'

Kimberley Walsh opens up about her happy marriage, raising two children and her Girls Aloud glory days

GEMMA MCCARTNEY

Warm and friendly, Kimberley Walsh puts us at ease when we chat to her as she finishes posing for our exclusive photoshoot for her new clothing range with Regatta.

“I had a really good day and it was nice to try different looks with the coats,” she tells us.

The former Girls Aloud star is refreshingly candid as we settle down for a natter, and although talk of her old bandmates is off limits, she’s more than happy to reveal all when it comes to her personal life.

Kimberley’s family unit is solid, having been with her husband Justin Scott, 38, for an impressive 17 years. The couple, who finally tied the knot in a gorgeous Barbados beach wedding in 2016, have sons Bobby, six, and three-year-old Cole.

And despite Kimberley juggling a busy work schedule alongside raising her boys, the 38-year-old says her relationship with Justin couldn’t be stronger.

“We’ve got quite similar personalities and we’re both quite laid-back,” she says. “He’s more laid-back than me. I do the organising and he would never do that – he leaves that to me.”

Since playing teacher to her little ones during lockdown, Kimberley has been performing in Sleepless, the musical adaptation of classic 90s film Sleepless In Seattle, in the role of Annie alongside pop star-turned-West End regular Jay McGuiness.

It’s the first show to be back on stage following lockdown and Kimberley admits she is so happy to be singing for audiences at London’s Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre, despite the reduced capacity.

“It’s going to be one of those weird things that goes down in history to add to the CV,” she says. “It’s such a tough time for actors and a lot of people would be biting your arm off to be doing what we’re doing, so it’s thanks to the producers, because they’re doing it to help theatre survive.”

Here, Kimberley talks about getting hitched again, her career highlights and trying to age gracefully…

Hi Kimberley! It’s been a tough few months for us all. Have you learnt anything from lockdown?

That you can do a lot less and still be happy and content. And we probably do too much. I’m always racing around seeing people and my days are all so full. I probably will sit back on that a little bit.

You’ve been in lockdown with the family at home. Are Bobby and Cole close as brothers?

Really close! There’s just over two years between them, so they’re thick as thieves. There’s no in between, so it’s absolute love or fighting! [Laughs]

What are your hopes and aspirations for your children?

I’m enjoying seeing them growing into little people with personalities and I want to help lead them to wherever they want to go. I’m not going be to putting any pressure on what they should do. I’m just going to mould them to be good people and whatever comes after that is up to them. They’re still so young, so I’ll let them be young at the moment.

Is Justin a hands-on dad?

He’s amazing – he really is. I know that I can leave them with him and he would do everything that I would do and I don’t have to think about it and they love being with him. We share everything. It’s nice for the kids, because they feel like they’ve got two parents who are fully engaged in everything they’re doing, so they’re very lucky.

What do the boys make of their mummy being famous?

Bobby is aware of it and he thinks it’s funny. He sees it as two different people. If people come up to me, he rolls his eyes and says, “Oh God, they must be Girls Aloud fans.” [Laughs] He takes it in his stride at the moment. Cole is a bit more clingy and protective and he doesn’t like it when people come up to me. They’re starting to understand it and the more normal it is for them, the better it is. It’s part of their life.

Do you think they will follow in your footsteps and go into performing?