The beginning of this month marked ten years since her divorce from Ashley Cole – with sources telling Closer how the anniversary “stung” Cheryl as it dredged up memories of her heartbreak after he’d cheated on her several times.
And while she has clearly tried to move on from her first husband – including a second failed two-year marriage to Frenchman Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini in 2016, and having a baby with her now-ex, Liam Payne, in 2017 – Cheryl, 37, was again reminded of her four-year first marriage after the ex-footballer spoke about her publicly last week.
Talking to interviewer and ex-footballer Jamie Redknapp, Ashley, 39, insisted he’d been a “shy, quiet, polite kid” but that events in his personal and professional life had meant the public perceived him as “the devil.”
When Jamie – who was married to Eternal singer Louise Redknapp from 1998 to 2017 – suggested the pair had “made it harder for [themselves] by marrying popstars,” Ashley confessed he had been a “kid” at that age, but had realised he had “made mistakes”, seemingly hinting at his infidelity.
He said, “You don’t marry a girl because she’s a popstar; you want to be with her because you like her. You like her company. Everyone says I was supposed to be a role model [but] I was a kid, I [didn’t] understand life!
“Did I make mistakes when I was younger? Of course, and I understand that now. I understand right from wrong. I’ve lived through life – the good, the bad, the ugly and the unbelievable.”
The interview was shared 16k times, provoking a storm among Cheryl’s fans, many of whom lashed out at him for his scandals during their marriage, saying, “He is the only one that Cheryl loved”, and “Didn’t he cheat on his wife?” Another football fan called him “Mr Dependable” on the pitch, but added, “Just not to Cheryl.”
Cheryl and Ashley became a showbiz golden couple when they started dating in 2004, while Cheryl was enjoying a successful pop career as one-fifth of Girls Aloud and Ashley was one of the biggest football stars in the country.
They married in a £1 million star-studded wedding in 2006 but, less than two years later, Cheryl’s world came crashing down when Ashley was accused of sleeping with hairdresser Aimee Walton during a drunken night out.
Check out: from Cheryl to Coleen Rooney - where are the 2006 WAGS now?
The UK Wags - where are they now? - slider
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1 of 9Victoria Beckham
One half of the indestructible Beckham brand, Victoria was the original Queen WAG in 2006. At the time Victoria had been married to David for seven years and had just given birth to her third boy, Cruz. She had also just launched her denim line, dvb Style and walked the catwalk for Roberto Cavalli. Over a decade later, she is a fully fledged and well respected fashion designer, with a fourth addition to her brood – the adorable Harper.
2 of 9Coleen Rooney
Coleen rose to fame as a WAG at just 20 years old. Coleen and Wayne are married and they celebrated their ten-year anniversary in 2018. However, Wayne's repeated cheating has strained the relationship over the years. They have four children together, Kai, Klay, Kit and Cass. Since 2006 Coleen has released a fitness DVD, been a style advisor for Littlewoods and even had a column with us in Closer magazine.
3 of 9Cheryl
How could we forget Cheryl as a WAG? Back then, 23-year-old Cheryl was a popstar in Girls Aloud who had just married Ashley Cole. Nowadays, Cheryl is a household name and a worldwide celebrity in her own right. After splitting from Ashley in 2010, she had a successful (well, successful-ish) solo career, was a judge on The X Factor and was the face of beauty brand L'Oreal. She married Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini in 2016 but they divorced three months later. Most recently, Cheryl separated from One Direction singer, Liam Payne, who she has a baby son called Bearwith.
4 of 9Abbey Clancy
Abbey first grabbed our attention in 2006 as one of the finalists in Britain's Next Top Model. She began dating Peter Crouch that same year and the pair are now married with three kids Sophia Ruby, Liberty Rose and baby Johnny. Lingerie model Abbey went on to win Strictly Come Dancing in 2013 and she returned to Britain's Next Top Model as the show's presenter. Not bad work, eh?
5 of 9Danielle Lloyd
Danielle Lloyd was dating footballer Teddy Sheringham when she gained her WAG status. At the time, her title as Miss Great Britain was a controversial matter and she was later stripped of it. Fast forward to now and Danielle has appeared on TV shows such as Celebrity Big Brother, Total Wipeout, The Weakest Link and even Come Dine With Me. She has three sons, Archie, Harry and George with her now ex-husband Jamie O'Hara. Danielle gave birth to a fourth child with her husband Michael O'Neill, Ronnie, in 2017.
6 of 9Elen Rivas
Elen Rivas was engaged to Frank Lampard at the time of the 2006 World Cup, and was a permanent fixture in the WAG circle. After splitting from Frank after a seven-year relationship, she dated Peter Andre, appeared on Dancing On Ice and now looks after her two daughters Luna and Isla while working as a model. Frank has since married TV presenter Christine Bleakley and they've welcomed their daughter Patricia into the world.
7 of 9Louise Owen
Despite being married to one of the most famous footballers at the time, Louise Owen wasn't your stereotype WAG. She has always managed to keep her distance from the limelight. Her passion is rescuing race horses and she currently lives in Wales with her husband Michael and their four children, Gemma, James, Jessica and Emily.
8 of 9Carly Zucker
Now known as Carly Cole after marrying midfielder Joe Cole in Chelsea in 2009, Carly loved to party during the 2006 World Cup (we know the feeling). She then spent two weeks in the jungle during I'm A Celeb in 2009 before being the third to be booted out. Carly and Joe have had three children, Ruby, Harrison and Max together.
9 of 9Alex Curran
Former nail technician Alex Curran began dating Liverpool player Steven Gerrard in 2002. She was one of the leading figures in the 2006 WAG squad. The pair married in 2007 and they have had four children together, Lexie, Lio, Lord, Lilly-Ella. Fashion lover Alex has released a perfume, fronted a Lipsy campaign and written a weekly shopping column for a national newspaper.
The singer gave him a second chance, but their reconciliation was short-lived and she filed for divorce in 2010 amid claims he’d slept with another four women.
She said she attacked him like a “lunatic” after discovering he’d been unfaithful – and confessed that the “sadness, physical pain, sickness and fury was like I’d never experienced”. She later admitted she had been left feeling “numb” and was on the verge of a nervous breakdown following the split.
While earlier this month sources told Closer their ten-year anniversary on 3 September was a “reminder of how it [the marriage] ended still hurt” Cheryl, Closer’s psychological therapist, Emma Kenny, agrees that having Ashley reflect on their marriage will also stir up past emotions for Cheryl – especially as he seemed to be sending her a message that he is sorry for what went wrong.
Emma says, “I get the feeling that Cheryl not only loved Ashley, but she hero-worshipped him to some extent. He was her first love, and probably the deepest love she has felt – she has said before how he always made her feel like a complete princess, which is why his infidelity was such a shock to her.
“I think the message Ashley is giving out here is, ‘I am now a really decent guy and I’m sorry for what I did’. He is showing he cared and still cares by saying he wanted to spend time with her.
“So having him reflect on the love they had – and doing so in a nice way, in which he speaks about wanting to be with her and realising his mistakes – may even stir up emotions and thoughts of ‘what if?’ in her, especially now as he is coming across as a decent person. It will remind her of what they had and how happy she was.
“But she may well be feeling torn as she is likely to be angry, too – hearing him talk of his cheating will bring up those past feelings of hurt and betrayal – and the immense pain she went through – all over again.”
Speaking to Piers Morgan after their divorce, Cheryl broke down in tears as she sobbed, “I thought [Ashley] was great… Sensitive. A good person. Just a nice guy. We were meant for each other. There’s part of us that’ll always love him, of course. Big part of me life. And I love his family. And I love what we had [sic].”
While Cheryl – who has been single since her split from Liam in 2018 and who earlier this year admitted she had been looking into surrogacy to give their son Bear, three, siblings – has been branded unlucky in love, Ashley has proved he’s changed his cheating ways. He’s now engaged to Italian model Sharon Canu, who he’s been dating since 2014 and with whom he shares four-year-old son Jaxon and three-year-old daughter Grace.
However, despite separating a decade ago, Cheryl can’t seem to completely escape Ashley. She was said to be feeling “unsettled” last year after learning he had been looking at houses just two miles from her home, which she shares with Bear.
And he even got involved in her 2016 marriage to JB – by retweeting a mocked-up picture of him standing behind the pair shortly after their shock wedding.
Meanwhile, his former teammate Jermaine Pennant said in 2018 that he believed Cheryl was “still caught up over Ash” and that her relationships since had “struggled” because of it. His ex-girlfriend, Pascal Craymer – who Ashley briefly dated in 2014 – insisted the former X Factor judge still harboured feelings for her first husband, saying, “I know Cheryl loves Ash and always will.”
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Emma says, “While it won’t hold Cheryl back from meeting someone else, Ashley speaking about her again could – especially at times like now, when she’s more alone than usual due to the pandemic – make her reflect on what might have been.
“They could have had a family – that’s what she wanted with him – but it’s what he has with another woman. I feel like there are bound to be feelings of regret and compassion on both sides.
“It does seem like there’s some unfinished words between them. Maybe this is his way of reaching out to her to apologise and seek her forgiveness.”
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