{"id":7551,"date":"2025-10-20T02:03:03","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T09:03:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/?p=7551"},"modified":"2025-10-20T02:03:03","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T09:03:03","slug":"nicola-roberts-i-have-friends-that-didnt-manage-to-make-it-to-40-its-a-privilege-getting-older","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/?p=7551","title":{"rendered":"Nicola Roberts: \u2018I have friends that didn\u2019t manage to make it to 40 \u2013 it\u2019s a privilege getting older\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2025\/10\/20\/09\/16104910-6a1b5534-0928-48fd-ac9a-f1256ae13874.jpg?width=1200&amp;auto=webp&amp;crop=3%3A2\" \/><\/p>\n<div id=\"main\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"hydrate-root sc-10wlkbs-0\" data-component=\"SupportNSCNative\" data-loading=\"lazy\" data-theme-name=\"base\">\n<aside class=\"sc-hez36s-0 dFpFuY\">\n<div class=\"sc-hez36s-1 iBibVd\">\n<h3 data-testid=\"support-nsc-title\" class=\"sc-hez36s-2 fXvmgM\">Your support helps us to tell the story<\/h3>\n<div class=\"sc-hez36s-8 juUDRT\">\n<div class=\"sc-hez36s-13 cqPbFA\">\n<div class=\"sc-aja53j-0 rAFIl sc-hez36s-16 jZSKtc\">\n<div class=\"sc-aja53j-6 PdmgT\">\n<div data-testid=\"dropdown-with-gradient-collapsed-content-container\" class=\"sc-aja53j-5 hJPJVF\">\n<div>\n<div data-testid=\"dropdown-with-gradient-collapsed-content\" class=\"sc-aja53j-4 dDhojf\">\n<div>\n<div data-testid=\"support-nsc-collapsed-content-tablet\" class=\"sc-hez36s-7 cUJDWn\">\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 jEZjIj\">From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it&#8217;s investigating the financials of Elon Musk&#8217;s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, &#8216;The A Word&#8217;, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 jEZjIj\">At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 jEZjIj\">The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n<p><strong class=\"sc-1uza6dc-1 gunhQQ\">Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><button class=\"sc-aja53j-1 keLMOw sc-aja53j-7 eMEmGu\"><span data-testid=\"dropdown-with-gradient-dropdown-tablet\" class=\"sc-aja53j-3 dHXFkr\"><span data-action-type=\"Read more\" class=\"sc-aja53j-2 jrwZqm\">Read more<\/span><svg class=\"sc-eaj12q-0 hUgQwJ sc-culv3z-0 eifaJK sc-a5wy94-0 hyKPon\"><use href=\"#ee6613da15642019\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Lincolnshire-born singer Nicola Roberts has just turned 40, and during her birthday celebrations, her friends asked how she felt. She didn\u2019t hesitate: \u201cI have friends that didn\u2019t manage to make it to 40.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo it is a privilege to get older. We should show gratitude for ageing, because it means we\u2019re around a little bit longer, and that is imperatively important.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a refreshing response from someone who\u2019s spent half her life in an industry built on staying forever young. But Roberts, once the youngest member of Girls Aloud, isn\u2019t clinging to the past.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s freedom at any age if you truly accept and love who you are,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>That sense of acceptance runs through everything she says and her newfound approach to wellbeing. Roberts is speaking as she marks a new chapter, recently being announced as the face of Aveeno\u2019s new Age Renewal range.<\/p>\n<p>The collaboration feels apt: the line promotes what it calls \u201cageing gratefully,\u201d an adage that Roberts lives by, following the passing of friend and fellow band mate Sarah Harding in 2021.<\/p>\n<p>Harding died of breast cancer aged 39, just two months shy of her 40th birthday.<\/p>\n<p>Losing Harding, Roberts says, put many things into perspective. It made her reconsider the relentless pursuit of improvement that had long defined both her industry and her own habits.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve got gentler with myself,\u201d she says. \u201cI don\u2019t want to put my skin through it anymore.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I look in the mirror in the morning, I\u2019m like, this is fine. I\u2019m not pulling myself apart.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Aveeno partnership comes at a time when that message of caring for your skin shouldn\u2019t mean punishing it, makes sense to her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI still want skincare that does something,\u201d she says, \u201cbut it also has to reflect how I live. We don\u2019t use toxic products at home; I don\u2019t use fragranced shower gels. So it\u2019s about finding that balance \u2013 products that are effective, but that also fit with a more mindful way of looking after yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C-FHeZMoXaJ\/embed\/captioned\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"sc-wn0aau-1 dZPXBi\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Roberts also says how big an impact diet has made on her skin, as she\u2019s noticed the visible effect of what she eats are becoming more evident with age.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDiet is massive for me,\u201d she says, \u201cif I eat a lot of sugar, my skin texture changes. Even my make-up goes on differently. So it\u2019s about balance. I know if I indulge in pizza and cake, I\u2019ll have a breakout next week.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She laughs when she talks about her simplified routine. \u201cI just don\u2019t think my skin can take that much information anymore,\u201d she says. \u201cI used to think if it wasn\u2019t tingling it wasn\u2019t doing something, but sometimes your skin just needs calm.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This gentler approach have also made her feel more confident, as she notes, \u201cI prefer how I look without make-up on most days. I just like being comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roberts\u2019 measured relationship with beauty is hard-won. In her 20s, she became known as the \u201cpale one\u201d in Girls Aloud \u2013 an identity that came with constant scrutiny in an era when tanning was practically mandatory.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI definitely did my time being addicted to tanning and feeling like I needed to be tanned to fit in,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cComing out of the Nineties and the Noughties, it was seen as attractive to be tanned \u2013 if you weren\u2019t that skin tone, you were an outcast a bit when it came to beauty standards.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eventually, she recognised that the constant drive to be tanned was unhealthy. \u201cI got to a point where I realised I couldn\u2019t tan \u2013 I\u2019d only burn \u2013 and I realised how unhealthy my perception of beauty was in conjunction with tanning,\u201d she says. \u201cEventually I realised I looked so much better in my own skin tone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That realisation led her to make a BBC documentary about tanning addiction and skin cancer, and she was part of a campaign that helped change UK law to ban under-18s from using sunbeds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKids were leaving school in their uniforms and going straight to tanning salons,\u201d she remembers, \u201cit\u2019s insane to me that something like body weight or skin tone can fall into a fashion trend category.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fact that tanning is coming back now is quite crazy \u2013 it\u2019s like flared jeans. It shouldn\u2019t be a trend when it\u2019s about your health.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/B-uUyOHgHt2\/embed\/captioned\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"sc-wn0aau-1 dZPXBi\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>That instinct to question what\u2019s considered \u201cnormal\u201d beauty has only sharpened with age.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou just have to have the responsible conversation with yourself,\u201d she says, \u201cwhat\u2019s important to me? How far do I take this? And that\u2019s a conversation you should have with yourself, not one driven by peer pressure or societal noise.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you don\u2019t have self-love, and you\u2019re trying to fill that hole with connection or attention, you\u2019re going to keep making decisions that don\u2019t serve your true purpose,\u201d she thoughtfully explains.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnce you fill that hole with self-respect and love, you don\u2019t reach for other things to fill it \u2013 you can create boundaries and say no easily.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Therapy, she says, helped her get there. \u201cHow you look is a relationship with yourself \u2013 and with the encouragement and love you get from people around you [\u2026] A therapist can help you reframe things, but self-love really is the root of everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And so upon turning 40, Roberts isn\u2019t trying to reinvent herself, but just become more comfortable in her skin.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs you get older, you just naturally and really beautifully get to a point where you don\u2019t care,\u201d she says, \u201cyou\u2019re like, this is it, this is who I am, take it or leave it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it&#8217;s investigating the financials of Elon Musk&#8217;s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, &#8216;The A Word&#8217;, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more Lincolnshire-born singer Nicola Roberts has just turned 40, and during her birthday celebrations, her friends asked how she felt. She didn\u2019t hesitate: \u201cI have friends that didn\u2019t manage to make it to 40. \u201cSo it is a privilege to get older. We should show gratitude for ageing, because it means we\u2019re around a little bit longer, and that is imperatively important.\u201d It\u2019s a refreshing response from someone who\u2019s spent half her life in an industry built on staying forever young. But Roberts, once the youngest member of Girls Aloud, isn\u2019t clinging to the past. \u201cThere\u2019s freedom at any age if you truly accept and love who you are,\u201d she says. That sense of acceptance runs through everything she says and her newfound approach to wellbeing. Roberts is speaking as she marks a new chapter, recently being announced as the face of Aveeno\u2019s new Age Renewal range. The collaboration feels apt: the line promotes what it calls \u201cageing gratefully,\u201d an adage that Roberts lives by, following the passing of friend and fellow band mate Sarah &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7552,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7551"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7551"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7551\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}