Nobody can resist the pull of a celebrity scandal, and there’s one subsection of fame that practically guarantees a dramatic feud— bands. It’s almost inevitable that our favourite groups eventually go their separate ways. The Spice Girls sang friendship never ends yet Geri Halliwell quit two years later. Jesy Nelson realised her ‘wings were made to fly’ and left Little Mix, and Atomic Kitten were never whole again after Kerry Katona walked away in 2001. These are the feuds and rivalries that tore apart the world’s biggest girl groups.

Destiny’s Child

Originally titled the less catchy Girl’s Tyme, by 1997 Beyonce Knowles, LaTavia Roberson, and LeToya Luckett, and Kelly Rowland, were performing as Destiny’s Child. However, by 2000 LaTavia and LeToya and had left the band, claiming they were forced out after a disagreement with management—AKA Beyonce’s father, Mathew Knowles. After being replaced by Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin, LeToya and LaTavia sued the group and Beyonce’s father, which was settled out of court. Farrah was also soon dropped from the band after citing issues with management. Is anyone noticing a pattern?

Pussycat Dolls

Although The Pussycat Dolls were known as a group, it was public knowledge that Nicole Scherzinger frequently recorded entire albums by herself, admitting in 2012 that she sang ‘95% of the vocals for the group.’ After internal conflict led to a break-up, Melody Thornton—best remembered from the iconic video of Nicole giving her side-eyes as she performs ad-libs to Don’t Cha—insisted that her issue was with the label, and not Nicole personally. Melody later revealed, ‘People would assume that I was so mad at Nicole because she sang and I didn’t. Well, no. That was her dream, and it was coming true for her. I just wanted it for myself too…I’m a phenomenal vocalist, you just never heard it. But it wasn’t Nicole’s fault.’

Spice Girls

Geri Halliwell quitting the Spice Girls in 1998 broke fans’ hearts everywhere, and it didn’t rub her fellow bandmates the right way either. Mel B later revealed, ‘When Geri left the group, it was so bad. She left on my birthday and didn’t tell anybody. She just didn’t show up.’ Although they managed to put the bad blood behind them for a reunion tour in 2007, and then again for a performance at the 2012 Olympics closing ceremony, Victoria Beckham raised eyebrows when she chose not to take part in the 2019 tour. At the time, Posh said she wanted to focus on growing her fashion brand and being a mother. Although the band attended Victoria’s 50th birthday party in April, Emma Bunton fuelled feud rumours last year when she ignored Geri’s birthday message but reposted the rest of her bandmates’ tributes, so things may not be completely peachy in Spice World.

Cheetah Girls

Cheetah Girls reportedly had tensions from the very start. After their second film debuted on the Disney Channel, rumours swirled that they didn’t get along, and Raven-Symoné promptly left the group. The That’s So Raven star has been very outspoken about the fact that she did not enjoy her time in the group, later revealing, ‘The cliquish way that there was during that movie made me feel excluded from my original team. Not that it was strong to begin with, but I felt excluded.’ Kiely Williams publicly apologised and the pair seemed to clear the air, but Kiely and Adrienne Bailon-Houghton — who were originally two thirds of the band 3LW— still haven’t squashed their beef. On an Instagram live, Kiely told Raven, ‘No, I’m sorry, I’m not trying to be messy but I’m being for real with you. You can say what you want about me, but you can never say that I didn’t f*cking ride for Adrienne. You can’t say that. I didn’t do anything.’

All Saints

All Saints—made up of Shaznay Lewis, Melanie Blatt, Natalie Appleton and Nicole Appleton— went their separate ways in 2001. They revealed in 2016 that partying too much led to constant hangovers, which caused tension and fighting in the band. Mel revealed, ‘We just weren’t getting on anymore and we kind of hated each other, so we just thought… let’s stop.’ However, the main catalyst was a jacket. It turns out that right before they split, the group argued over who got to wear a combat jacket in a photoshoot, and it became their final straw. ‘I wouldn’t ever in a million years have put money on the group ending over a jacket incident,’ reflected Shaznay years later. Neither would we, Shaz.

Little Mix

After years of chart-topping success, things took a turn for Little Mix in 2020 when Jesy Nelson dramatically left the band, saying it had ‘taken a toll’ on her mental health. However, after she released her debut solo single Boyz accusations of ‘blackfishing’ came rolling in, and rumours of a feud swirled when leaked Instagram messages allegedly from Leigh-Anne Pinnock criticising her were leaked. It was later revealed that the other Little Mix members had attempted to have a ‘friendly, educational’ chat with Jesy about her new image before she left the group. In 2021, Jesy revealed that she had stopped speaking to her former bandmates altogether.

Girls Aloud

The bitter public feud between Cheryl and Nadine Coyle began in 2013 when Nadine claimed on social media that she’d never wanted Girls Aloud to break up. She posted, ‘I had no part in any of this split business. I couldn’t stop them. I had the best time and want to keep going.’ Never one to mince words, Cheryl quickly called the Northern Irish star ‘full of sh*t,’ writing, ‘She was the one who wanted to make a solo record, which is why we took the hiatus. She wants to come out and say we broke the band up? No! She shouldn’t tell porkie pies.’ Thankfully, the girls put the past behind them and even reunited for a UK tour in 2024.

Mis-Teeq

After topping the charts as a threesome, Alesha Dixon quit Mis-Teeq to go solo in 2005. However, it turns out that Alesha was the main contributor the band, and as a result was getting a higher cut for the band’s discography. Fellow bandmate Sabrina Washington threatened to sue the group for royalties as she believed she was due the same amount as Alesha. Sabrina said, ‘A lot of people say Alesha should have stuck to MC-ing because her voice isn’t that strong, and I agree. I did a lot of the work in Mis-Teeq.’ In the end, no lawsuit was ever officially filed, but it does leave a sour taste in the mouth of any Mis-Teeq fan.

Atomic Kitten

Kerry Katona left Atomic Kitten in 2001 right before their song Whole Again reached number one in the charts. Kerry later shed some light on the behind-the-scenes arguments, saying, ‘I remember some of the fights we had in Atomic Kitten back in the day. Once, Liz punched me from behind after we had a little row. I was furious and got my own back. I made her get changed in the toilets at SMTV Live, then I stamped on her feet while we were up on stage singing Whole Again.’

Things have still not been put completely to bed as Natasha Hamilton hinted at a reunion last year but failed to mention Kerry. Natasha said, ‘Never say never, who knows what could bring us back together? I’d love to do something again with myself, with Liz [McClarnon] and with Jen [Frost]. Who knows? The door’s always open for Jen to come back whenever she wants.’

Eternal

Louise Redknapp— then Nurding— left the band in 1995 after an alleged fight over who got to perform lead vocals. Although the band continued to perform, Kéllé Bryan later admitted that cracks formed behind-the-scenes, revealing, ‘It was pretty miserable, not even a hello or good morning. I don’t think their [Easther and Vernie’s] behaviour was kind and that was challenging.’ In 2023 it looked like a reunion could be on the cards, but Louise, 49, and Kéllé, 48, pulled out of the tour after devout Christian sister Vernie and Easther Bennett reportedly refused to play in any of the LBGTQ+ venues they had scheduled. Louise later told Loose Women, ‘Me and Kéllé are still the best of friends.’