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Wednesday, 3 December 2008

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Cheryl Cole’s hidden fears

The Girls Aloud star is 'exhausted and finds it difficult to sleep'

Cheryl is the only judge to have two acts remaining in The X Factor

This time last year, Cheryl Cole was ‘the gobby one from Girls Aloud’ – but how things have changed.

Now she's been voted Britain’s  most positive female influence, but far from enjoying her popularity, insiders tell Now that Cheryl’s turned into ‘a stressed-out workaholic’.

‘Cheryl’s so driven by her new-found positive public image that she’s having sleepless nights worrying about how to sustain it,’ says our source.

‘She’s exhausted. Last week, she really worried Ashley and her mum Joan when she almost passed out at home. But she still won’t slow down and the stress is impacting on her weight.'

Simon Cowell has told Cheryl to make sure she rests at every opportunity after he publicly revealed that he feels she’s ‘drained’.

A show insider reveals: ‘She’s still overwhelmed by all the public adoration and worries that she can’t live up to it. She never dreamt in a million years that she’d become TV gold and a style icon. She’s determined never to go back.

‘She likes to pretend that it doesn’t faze her, but she’s totally loving the glossies and broadsheets lauding her as fashion’s new It girl.'

But her work commitments are now starting to affect Cheryl's relationship to Ashley Cole, despite the fact their marriage survived his reported infidelity early this year.

‘Cheryl spends so little time with him these days,' says Now's source. 'And when she does, she pays more attention to her Chihuahuas Buster and Coco.

‘He feels like he’s low on her list of priorities at the moment, but he’s hoping that she’ll stay true to her word and try for a baby next year.’

He might be in for a wait. Cheryl’s accepted the challenge of climbing Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro in February for Comic Relief and going on tour with Girls Aloud in May.

See the full story about Cheryl Cole in Now magazine dated 11 December - out now!