Michelle Heaton has spoken about the emotional toll of the fallout with former friend Suzanne Shaw, following their time on the ITV talent show Popstars in 2001. The 46-year-old singer, who went on to form Liberty X after narrowly missing out on a place in Hear'Say, opened up on the podcast We Need To Talk with Paul Brunson about the tension between the two groups.
Heaton claimed that Hear'Say members called Liberty X 'flop stars' and said there was 'a wall from the get-go' as soon as Liberty X decided to release music. She described feeling that Hear'Say wanted them to fail. The fallout was particularly painful for Heaton, who had grown close to Shaw during the competition. 'It felt really harsh. We didn't know how to navigate it, and it felt like it wasn't the five people that we met,' she said.
Despite the initial rivalry, Liberty X went on to sell more than three million records and win a Brit Award in 2003, while Hear'Say disbanded in 2002 after internal tensions. Heaton admitted she wanted to reach out to Shaw to share her success but felt the distance. A source close to the singer said she values loyalty highly and has since learned to keep celebrity friendships at arm's length, remaining exceptionally close to Katie Price instead.
There is no ongoing bitter feud between Heaton and Shaw, with insiders saying they would be 'civil' if they met, but the personal friendship has not been rekindled. Heaton continues to perform with Liberty X bandmates Kelli Young and Jessica Taylor.
