Simon Cowell: Cheryl Cole had a wake-up call
Simon Cowell The Girls Aloud singer was granted a divorce from soccer player Ashley Cole in the High Court in London yesterday. The pair split in February following allegations Ashley had been unfaithful with a string of women, with Cheryl filing for divorce in May. Ashley admitted “unreasonable behaviour”, and documents stated the relationship had “irretrievably broken down”.
In July, Cheryl was hospitalised after contracting malaria while on holiday in Tanzania. The singer is now recovering, but spent weeks in a clinic and had to take time off work to get better. She is a judge on UK talent programme The X Factor with Simon Cowell, who has spoken of how impressed he has been with how she has handled the ordeal.
“My feeling when I spoke to her recently was that she was feeling in a better place mentally. No one wants to go through malaria, but she has definitely come out with a different perspective and I think you will see a sharp, focused Cheryl Cole when she returns to X Factor. She seems more focused and it was a wake-up call to her. At the end of the day your health is the most important thing,” he explained.
"We have spoken a lot, and now she has got a sense of perspective on life. In a weird way this has helped her manage her life better. I think she is going to appreciate what she has and enjoy it more. I am not even putting the personal stuff into this as well. You have to deal with that and I don't know how she coped with that to be honest."
Simon explained Cheryl was ill while she was shooting the initial stages of The X Factor, but he assumed she had just been partying too hard. He teased her about her supposed hangover, and was horrified when news came she had malaria.
“In that situation you are not even thinking about the show at that point. You are just thinking, 'I hope she is going to be OK,’” he told British newspaper The Sun. “I didn't know much about it, but apparently it was a serious strain. We were very, very worried about her, she was seriously ill.”
He added he often discusses work with Cheryl, and tries to advise her on how to balance her personal and professional life. He worries she takes on too much, and is trying to show her she can take time off to spend with friends and family.
Cheryl feels guilty she is letting people down if she isn’t working, which is when she turns to Simon for support. “My advice to her was, 'You don't have to feel guilt, you have a choice now to choose what you want to do. And it's for you and not the people around you,’” he said.