Nicole Scherzinger’s envy of Ashley Roberts caused Pussycat Dolls to split

London: Former Pussycat Doll Carmit Bachar has reveal has spoken out about her best friend Ashley Robert’s torment as she lifted the lid on the real reason behind the girl band’s break up for the first time.

Sensationally, Carmit claims that Nicole Scherzinger’s envy of Ashley was one of the main issues that tore the group apart. “Nicole was jealous of Ashley. She felt threatened by her — like people would prefer her because of the way she looked,” the Sun quoted Bachar as saying. “Ashley had that iconic American thing going on — blonde hair, blue eyes. It was the look Nicole seemed to want but could never have. “No one could understand why Nicole was so jealous. She was an exotic beauty with a look that most girls would kill for. “But she always had a thing about blonde girls. Ashley knew that Nicole was jealous of her and it made her feel uncomfortable. It was a hideous undertone in the group. “After the Dolls fell apart, Ashley was in tears. It was a tough time for everyone in the band. But with Ashley being the way she is, it was particularly hard on her,” she said. Carmit spoke out as 31-year-old Ashley emerged as the dark horse who could win the ITV1’s reality show ‘I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here’. The band rose to fame as a risque burlesque act at world-famous Los Angeles nightclub ‘The Viper Room’. They were eventually signed by Jimmy Iovine, of Interscope Records. And in 2005, their first single, ‘Don’t Cha’, became a worldwide hit. But three years later as jealousy and infighting became rampant the band started to implode. Carmit believes a crucial factor behind the split was ‘X Factor’ judge Nicole’s insecurity. She claims that as well as resenting Ashley’s all-American looks, she held a grudge against Melody — because Formula One ace Lewis Hamilton took a shine to Melody before he set his sights on Nicole. “I left the group right before Nicole got with Lewis. We ran into Lewis lots of times — in clubs in Amsterdam and here and there — and the chemistry I saw was between him and Melody, not him and Nicole. Melody and Lewis were popping off!” she said. “I remember someone telling me about Lewis and Nicole and I was like, ‘What?’ He was interested in Melody first. It was all Melody!” she said. The mum-of-one describes the girls as “like sisters” at first but says Nicole’s ego and insecurity started to dominate the band. “One of the best shows we ever played was Live Earth in London. We were performing alongside Coldplay and Black Eyed Peas. There were tens of thousands in the crowd at the O2 and billions watching worldwide,” Carmit said. “But it was also at Live Earth where the trouble began. Nicole messed up the walk on and the first song and we all followed her lead. It was really embarrassing. “Also, her vocals were off. Afterwards, Nicole blew up — ranting and raving — and some of the girls, including Ashley, left the room because they were so upset. That was the beginning of the end. “I think Nicole got it into her head that she was the real star and would be better off on her own. “She started travelling in her own tour bus and the divide between her and the rest us just got bigger. Nicole chose to isolate and alienate herself. There was constant bickering. Ashley was always the sensitive one back then. “She would often call me late at night crying her eyes out. I know Nicole’s attitude got to her. “Nicole basically wanted to be front and centre all the time. We were expected to work our a***s off to boost Nicole and her own career. The situation became unbearable,” she said. Carmit walked out on the Dolls in 2008 as they were waiting to board a flight out of LAX airport. “The band fell apart after I left. I was the peacemaker — the glue that held them all together. There was some talk of adding someone else but they didn’t replace me in the end. They had Jessica dye her hair red to look like me, but the fans didn’t fall for it,” she added. In 2010 Jessica and Ashley also left. The rest of the girls quit soon afterwards. There was talk of Nicole staying on with some new members, but by the end of the year she had officially left as well. Nicole has since claimed she sang 95 percent of the Dolls’ vocals and was the band’s driving force. ANI