Why Cheryl’s nursing fresh heartache over Ashley
Her future on The Greatest Dancer hangs in the balance as painful memories surface for Cheryl following the 10-year anniversary of the end of her marriage to Ashley Cole
IT’S NO SECRET SHE STILL REMINISCES ABOUT WHAT
COULD HAVE BEEN
She credited the BBC talent show for helping her rediscover her passion for ballet, and gushed about making lifelong friends with her fellow judges after returning for the second series of The Greatest Dancer earlier this year.
But following reports the show is set to be axed due to struggling ratings, insiders say Cheryl, 36, has been hit hard by the news that her dream role may be in jeopardy. The source says, “Cheryl’s gutted about the prospect of losing this job, especially given it’s something she’s so passionate about and how close she’s become to the entire team who’ve really boosted her spirits and given her a much-needed distraction over the last few months.”
And friends say the news has had a knock-on effect, as she’s now even having second thoughts about whether this is the right time to have a second longed-for baby.
In January, the singer revealed her plans to use a sperm donor to give her threeyear-old son Bear a sibling as she confessed her decision had been influenced by her age, adding, “If time was on my side, yeah, I would wait and consider more options.”
The source adds, “While Cheryl’s made no secret of yearning for more children and doesn’t want to wait too long, she’s also concerned about going in it alone when so much is up in the air.
HER NEXT MOVE
“She’s extremely ambitious and is determined to be a working mum, so she’s thinking about putting the brakes on her baby plans while she figures out her next move to ensure she’s in the place she wants to be when the time comes to have another baby.”
Cheryl’s re-evaluation of her life comes at a particularly poignant time, as it was around this time ten years ago that she split from first husband, former footballer Ashley Cole, 39, who she vowed never to stop loving following their painful divorce.
Opening up about her heartache and shock following the marriage breakdown, she said, “He was my best friend and we were so happy.”
Just 18 months after her fairytale wedding to the footballer, her world came crashing down in 2008 when hairdresser Aimee Walton detailed a drunken one-night stand she claimed to have had with the former Chelsea star. Despite giving Ashley a second chance, Cheryl called time on their fouryear marriage in 2010, after it was claimed he’d sent explicit pictures of himself to Page Three girl Sonia Wild. Cheryl later revealed that further allegations he’d slept with four more women behind her back had left her “numb”.
And pals say the ten-year anniversary of her split from Ashley is still a painful reminder of that time. The source says, “Ashley reminds her of a time when she was blissfully happy. She still misses the friendship they had and how loved and protected she felt when they were together. It’s made her reminisce even more and that’s led to fresh heartache over how different her life could have been if things hadn’t gone so badly. While Cheryl officially announced their separation in the February, Ashley didn’t actually move out of their marital home until the end of March – so this time of year triggers Cheryl’s emotions, and to have that coincide with the loss of the show she loved has been a double blow.”
LEFT SHAKEN
Twice-divorced Cheryl – who endured a bitter split from her second husband Jean Bernard Fernandez-Versini in 2016 and had brief romances with dancers Derek Hough and Tre Holloway – has failed to find a lasting romance since Ashley.
Her most significant relationship was with 1D star Liam Payne, 26 , with whom she shares Bear. But that ended in July 2018, although the two have remained close friends.
Opening up about her ex last year, she said, “We love and care about each other a lot.”
Last August, insiders told Closer how the Geordie-born singer was left shaken after learning Ashley and his girlfriend, Sharon Canu, were househunting in Gerrards Cross – just two miles from the Buckinghamshire village of Chalfont St Peter, where she moved to make a fresh start with Bear after leaving Liam’s Surrey mansion last year.
Pals say that watching the Chelsea coach play happy families with the children he shares with model Sharon – four-year-old son, Jaxon, and one-year-old daughter Grace – has been an even more painful reminder for Cheryl of the family she dreamed of having with him.
A source says, “It’s no secret Cheryl still reminisces about what could have been and she’s admitted to comparing every relationship she has to the early days with Ashley when she was so content and happy. While she doesn’t regret leaving him and has come into her own as being an independent, strong single mum, she can’t help but occasionally reminisce about what could have been if the relationship had worked.”
By Daisy McLure