Monday, 1 September 2008

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Cheryl Cole's under X-tra strain!

Her TV success hasn't ended Cheryl's marriage worries and the pressure is getting to the X factor star

Cheryl Cole still isn't wearing her wedding ring

We’re loving Cheryl Cole as a judge on The X Factor, but the Girls Aloud singer is still struggling with what the next step should be for her damaged marriage.

Some observers have taken Cheryl’s lack of a wedding ring as a sign that all isn’t well. But NOW can reveal that the real reason she isn’t wearing her wedding and engagement rings is because she’s lost so much weight through stress since Ashley, 27, was caught cheating with a blonde hairdresser last December.

Cheryl's barely eating because of all her pressures and is virtually living on a diet of fruit, Coca-Cola Zero and water, so she’s making no inroads into putting on weight.

Amazingly, last week the 25-year-old stunning star revealed that she still has ‘fat days’, despite her minute frame. ‘There’ll be times when I’ve got changed three or more times before I leave the house,’ she admitted. ‘Could be hormones, a bad hair day, I feel fat or spotty… I have it all.’

A source close to the star says: ‘Ashley needs to try to understand Cheryl a bit more. He’s still not trying hard enough. When they went out for a meal last week after she’d spent hours getting ready, he didn’t say a word to her. He can’t carry on being so offhand if he wants to keep her.’

For a time, it seemed that Ashley had finally convinced his wife he was a changed man and even began calling the shots, demanding that her mum Joan move out of their Surrey home and stop butting into their business.

At first, Cheryl gave in, but now Joan’s back on the scene.

See the full story in Now magazine dated 1 September 2008 - out now!