Dannii keeps a cool head after Cowell affair claims
AFTER a very public break-up and allegations of a fling with Simon Cowell, there is just one thing guaranteed to lift a girl’s spirits – a trip to the hairdresser.
Dannii Minogue showed off a stylish new pixie crop during her first public appearance since claims of an affair with Cowell emerged.
The 40-year-old looked dazzling in a plunging purple evening dress at the Logies, Australia’s television industry awards, on Sunday.
Miss Minogue has had a difficult few weeks, starting with the news of her split from Kris Smith, father of her 21-month-old son Ethan.
A fortnight ago, she announced that she had separated from the 33-year-old former rugby league player after four years together.
Then on Sunday, Miss Minogue’s private life came under the spotlight again when it was claimed she had a secret fling with Cowell after he recruited her as a judge on his ITV talent show X Factor in 2007.
A biography written by former
‘She was foxy and feminine’
BBC journalist Tom Bower claims Cowell, 52, described the singer as his ‘new toy’ when she arrived on the show, but later said: ‘It was genuine love.’
He said: ‘I was like a schoolboy. She was foxy. She was a real man’s girl. Very feminine.’
Describing their short-lived affair, he added: ‘There were a few bonks and then it petered out while I was in America.’
Miss Minogue’s fellow X Factor judge Sharon Osbourne, 5 , reportedly found out about their clandestine fling and the discovery caused a rift between the two women.
Cowell apparently enjoyed their rivalry, saying: ‘When I sit next to one, the other sulks. I have to try to give each one equal attention.
‘The competition adds spice to the show, and the show is about the judges, not the contestants.’ The music mogul reportedly ended his fling with Miss Minogue because he ‘wasn’t ready for another relationship’ after splitting with his girlfriend of six years, presenter Terri Seymour, now 37.
Afterwards, he allegedly said he would have ‘liked an affair’ with Mrs Osbourne’s X Factor replacement, Cheryl Cole, 28.
Cowell split from his fiancée Mezhgan Hussainy, 3 , earlier this year. In the explosive biography, called Sweet Revenge: The Intimate Life of Simon Cowell, it is claimed that he told friends the engagement was a ‘big mistake’.
The book also reports that he promised to transfer ownership of his £5million Beverly Hills house to Miss Hussainy to make up for being a ‘hopeless boyfriend’.
He said: ‘I’m attracted to crazy women. I encourage crazy behaviour and I make them crazy.’
Yesterday, a friend denied that Miss Minogue had been left distraught by the claims, saying: ‘Dannii is a strong woman and mother. She’s just going to hold her head up high and carry on as usual.’