When founding Sugababes member Keisha Buchanan was dropped from her own group late last year, a shock was felt around the Brit pop world. But rumors of conflicts within the group had persisted for years. Current Sugababes members Amelle Berrabah and Heidi Range spoke for the first time on continuing the group without Keisha, new member Jade Ewen, and what led Berrabah to have to visit rehab.

In an interview with the UK's Daily Record, Berrabah and Range confirm the rumored bullying by former member Keisha that took its toll on the group members, causing Berrabah to visit a center to begin self-esteem rebuilding.

"Bullying is a strong word. It sounds bad. But no one likes to be treated horribly. I was being singled out every day and I didn't like the way I was being treated. I dreaded going in to work even though I had worked so hard to get here," Berrabah said.

"I didn't have a voice," Berrabah continued. "Heidi didn't have a voice and the people who worked around her didn't have a voice. Even people who worked with us threatened to quit because they couldn't take it. I took a lot of s*** from her as did Heidi and the rest of the team."

Berrabah joined the group at the end of 2005, after former member Mutya Buena had left after reports that she wanted out and was tired of being in the group. Siobhan Donaghy, one of the group's original members, left the group in 2001 but was a lot more outspoken about her reasons, calling Keisha a "b***h" in interviews. In their new interview, Berrabah and Range were much shyer about calling her names, saying they still respect her.

"Morally, you can only allow yourself to be treated a certain way for so long. It got to a point where we couldn't do it anymore. I still respect Keisha. I would never speak badly about her or go into detail but we tried for a long time to make things work and it just got worse and worse," Berrabah said.

"Me and Heidi were struggling for a year and trying our best to make things work. But it was so negative on a daily basis, it upset me. It affected my health. The stress got to me."

Days before the trio were due in Los Angeles to shoot the video for single "About a Girl," Berrabah was a no-show. With reports that a friend of hers was in a serious car accident, Berrabah quietly checked into rehab for stress.

"We were told her friend had been in a car accident but she had gone away for a week because she couldn't take any more," Range said. "The day before we flew to LA, it came to a head. I couldn't take it anymore and neither could Amelle. How we allowed ourselves to be treated had gone on too long."

Range joined the group following Donaghy's departure, where she worked with Keisha from 2001 until the end of 2009 and says their last year together was the worst. Ironically, their last album in the line-up released at the end of 2008 was titled "Catfights & Spotlights."

"It was pretty bad the last year of the previous line-up," Range continues "I respect Keisha for the eight and a half years we have been together so I wouldn't want to tell tales. But we had to make a decision whether to work in that environment. This job is our life and it wasn't a nice atmosphere. It wasn't a happy environment."

But the group continues with the release of their seventh album, "Sweet 7," although none of the original members remain. Buchanan, originally seen as the driving force behind Sugababes, is out and 22-year-old Jade Ewen is in. She went in to the vocal booth and re-recorded the album Sugababes had nearly wrapped and ready for a November release. The album was pushed back until March 15th and will feature the hit singles "About a Girl" and "Wear My Kiss."

Berrabah says that while they're not best friends with newest member Ewen just yet (they only met the former Eurovision contestant a few months ago), she thinks she's a lovely girl. "Now Jade is on board we are really happy and it is nice coming into work," Berrabah says. "Jade is a breath of fresh air and a nice girl. We are so looking forward to the future. I am the happiest person ever." icelebz