Girls Aloud bandmate Nicola Roberts comforts divorcing Cheryl Cole late into the night - as Ashley blames lack of sex after her mother moved in

By Sara Nathan and Ben Todd

Friend in need: Nicola Roberts comforted her divorcing Girls Aloud bandmate Cheryl Cole at her Surrey mansion until 1am


Nicola Roberts rushed to support her Girls Aloud bandmate Cheryl Cole yesterday after the singer announced her divorce from cheating footballer Ashley Cole.

The 24-year-old was spotted leaving Cheryl's Surrey mansion at 1am, after spending the evening comforting her close friend.

Cheryl has remained locked inside her home since her return from Los Angeles, while her estranged husband is in France for treatment on a broken ankle.

After spending the evening with her friend, and bandmate Kimberley Walsh, Nicola had a grim expression on her face as she drove herself away, wrapped up against the cold in a woolly cardigan.

The three have been friends since meeting on Popstars: The Rivals in 2002.

But while Cheryl's friends are rallying round, her cheating husband's supporters have blamed her closeness to her mother for the break-up.

They claim he told how his sex life with Cheryl 'dwindled to virtually nothing' after Joan Callaghan came to live in their £6million mansion.

As the marriage came under strain, Cole is said to have spent up to six hours a night at home playing on his Xbox computer game console with friends including Chelsea teammate John Terry, the disgraced England captain, and former teammate Shaun Wright-Phillips.


Ashley is said to blame Cheryl's mother Joan for the split, and thinks her moving into their home was the reason his marriage broke down


Cheryl's mother Joan, 50, moved into the nine-bedroom house in Hurtmore, Surrey, to keep an eye on her daughter shortly after Cole was first accused of cheating on her with blonde hair-dresser Aimee Walton in January 2008.

At 5ft, Mrs Callaghan is a good three inches shorter than her daughter, but what she lacks in stature she makes up for with her no-nonsense personality.

Known to friends and family as the 'pocket rocket', she is fiercely protective and proud of her daughter.



source: dailymail