Cheryl, 32, split from Ashely Cole for good in 2010, after multiple allegations of his infidelity, after already giving him a second chance.
Discussing the humiliation of footballer Ashley’s ‘cheating’, Cheryl said: “To be honest, I coped in public and crumbled in private.”
The X Factor judge added to InStyle: “It’s growth, it’s life. They say a good sailor would never be a good sailor if he hadn’t experienced a rough sea.”
Cheryl – who married Jean-Bernard in secret last year – also opened up about her friends’ reactions to her situation with Ashley, admitting they changed their outlook after initially judging her for giving him a second chance.
She continued: “It’s funny – those who didn’t understand my actions at the time have now had that happen to them and they get it.
“A friend of mine told me her husband was having an affair and she said, ‘I understand everything that must have been going through your head. But what I will never understand in how you had to face the world.’”
Cheryl and restauranteur JB tied the knot on the island on Mustique in July 2014, after three months of dating.