Soaking up the Ibiza sun in a series of sexy swimwear, Sarah Harding showed off her super-fit body last week and the hard-earned results of her recent health kick.
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The Girls Aloud star, once a regular on the Ibiza party scene, looked happy as she revealed her impressive abs
and toned limbs for a series of photo shoots on board a yacht off the Balearic island – a world away from the high-octane lifestyle of previous years.
Once renowned for her all-night benders and heavy boozing, the 30 year old, who has been sober since January following a stint in rehab for alcohol and sleeping pill addiction, looked relaxed messing around in the sea with pals on the short trip.
Sources close to the star say she has totally transformed her formerly notorious “caner” behaviour and has swapped clubbing for early nights and early-morning yoga sessions.
'Sarah has worked hard to transform her life'
A pal says: “Sarah has worked hard to transform her life. It’s been tough for her coming back to Ibiza as she partied so much there – and it was always a special place for her and her ex Tom. But she feels she’s moving on with her life and loved being back there for a while.”
Sarah split with her DJ fiancé Tom Crane, also 30, last September after a stormy four-year relationship. The pair had been engaged for nine months following Tom’s romantic proposal in the Maldives on New Year’s Eve 2010.
But sources claimed Sarah’s increasingly wild and boozy lifestyle took its toll on the couple, leading to their split.
However, after her spell in rehab, Sarah said of her ex: “We still have a lot of love for each other.”
As Sarah – who is expected to release a solo album in 2013 – touched down in Ibiza last week, several pals close to the star thought she might take the opportunity to hook up with Tom, who has a DJ residency at the island’s Blue Marlin bar.
A source says: “She feels she’s turned a massive corner in her life and isn’t the same person she once was. She has told pals she’d love to be loved again and has said she’s ready for a new start.”
But despite rumours of a reunion between the pair, a spokesman for Sarah firmly denied they would be getting back together, saying: “Sarah is out in Ibiza for a work commitment. She has no plans to meet up with Tom and is not getting back together with him.”
But pals say Sarah – who has sculpted her new body through gruelling two-hour gym workouts, as well as daily Bikram yoga sessions – is still not ruling out a possible reunion one day.
“Sarah misses being in a stable relationship and what she had with Tom,” says the source. “Who knows what will happen in the future? For the moment, both of them have moved on, but there could still be hope.
“Sarah misses being in love. If it’s not meant to be with Tom, then she accepts that – but she would like to find someone. She’s in a better place now.”
After the couple split last year, Sarah hit rock bottom. She checked into rehab in the US in October, later admitting:
'My drinking was out of control and I was addicted to sleeping pills'
“My drinking was out of control and I was addicted to sleeping pills. It was an awful combination. I’ve been to hell and back.”
While in rehab, she met booze and crack cocaine addict Theo De Vries – but the pair’s brief fling came to a nasty end during a New Year’s Day bust-up last year at a ski resort in Austria.
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Sarah claimed a boozed-up Theo physically assaulted her during the fight – while he counter claimed it was Sarah who was drunk and attacked him.
Following the incident, Sarah, who has been sober since the alleged attack, also admitted she still loved Tom.
She said: “We still have a lot of love for each other, but we know we are just not right for each other at this point in time.
“I think that’s what p****d Theo off. He knew that I still had a lot of love for Tom.”
But sources close to the star – who has met with music producers while in Ibiza to discuss ideas for her upcoming solo album – say that despite still being single, she is happy with her new healthy lifestyle.
A pal says: “Sarah sometimes starts her day at the crack of dawn at 6am. She loves to work out and she walks, swims and has been doing plenty of yoga.
'My skin is 10 years younger. Clean living has taken ten years off my body'
“She said she’s loving her health kick and watching the transformation it’s made to her body. She even said: ‘My skin is 10 years younger. Clean living has taken 10 years off my body and transformed me.’
“Her diet is pretty much vegetarian these days – she loves lentils and spinach, which help maintain her size 6 to 8 figure.”
Thanks to her new routine, Sarah feels happy showing off her toned body. The star has even told pals: “My legs are my proudest possession and my bum is pert. Gravity won’t win yet.”
A source adds: “Sarah is never sitting down for long – she enjoys all sports. She’d love to become a yoga guru and open her own studio.”
By Rosie Carter