It's over: Ashley Cole resigned to divorce as he's pictured for the first time without his wedding ring

By Simon Cable and Richard Simpson

Inevitable: Ashley Cole, pictured at a rehabilitation clinic in the south of France without his wedding ring


No longer wearing his wedding ring, Ashley Cole now appears resigned to the fact that his three-and-a-half year marriage to estranged wife Cheryl is over for good.

The 29-year-old Chelsea player was spotted without his diamond-encrusted band for the first time since Girls Aloud star Cheryl walked out on him last week following a string of alleged affairs.

Cole has been desperately battling to save his marriage from a rehabilitation clinic in the south of France where he is receiving treatment on his broken ankle

According to sources at the Centre Europeen de Reeducaion du Sportive, near Biarritz, Ashley has been bombarding the singer with calls and text messages in between physiotherapy sessions.

He had kept his ring on since arriving on Tuesday and had remained hopeful that he would be able to salvage their marriage.


Nothing to do: The footballer has had plenty of time to reflect on his marriage while holed up getting treatment on his broken ankle


But he gave the strongest hint yet that a divorce is now almost certain after he removed the ring on Saturday.

Still hobbling around on crutches, he ventured out onto the balcony of the third-storey room - only the second time in six days that he has been outside. He only briefly stepped out into the private grounds for some fresh air earlier this week.

The rest of the time he has spent holed up in the complex alongside team-mate Michael Essien, with sources reporting Cole looks ‘miserable’.

Things got worse for the star over the weekend as he watched his Chelsea team-mates crash to an embarrassing defeat to Manchester City.

And if that wasn’t enough, the multi-millionaire defender had to make do watching Saturday’s match on a communal television screen in the canteen along with a number of other patients.

News that he has ditched his wedding ring comes 13 days after Cheryl fled to the US after four women came forward claiming to have slept with the footballer. A fifth woman says Cole had sent her lewd pictures of himself to her mobile phone.

On that occasion, she was wearing neither the £150,000 ring she received from her husband on their wedding day in July 2006 or the £160,000 square-cut diamond he famously presented her with in the wake of his affair with blonde hairdresser Aimee Walton in December 2007.

She announced she was separating from Cole less than a week later. She has prepared herself for a divorce by telling friends that she has no plans to demand any money from her husband and does not want to follow in the footsteps of Heather Mills who battled for a share of Paul McCartney’s fortune when they split.


Devastated: Cheryl Cole, pictured here on her way to a Lady Gaga concert last week, has cancelled interviews and public appearances since allegations surfaced of husband Ashley's alleged affairs


A source at the clinic has told the Daily Mail that the footballer has been bombarding Cheryl with text messages and has been ‘glued to his mobile phone’ in between physiotherapy sessions.

‘He spends most of his time texting on his mobile phone and calling his family.

‘He looks miserable. But he has had an awful lot of time on his hands to contemplate what has happened as apart from exercising, eating and sleeping there is nothing to do here.

He is basically holed up here. None of his family or friends have come to visit.

They even put a curfew on patients here and he is pretty much cut off from the outside world.

‘It can get extremely lonely. It sounds like he is doing everything he can to try and turn things around at home and is barely talking to anyone else in here. He seems like a little boy lost.’

It is understood that Cole will be staying at the clinic near Biarritz for at least another week.

Meanwhile, Cheryl remained holed up in her mansion yesterday as she battled to get over her husband's affairs.


Support: Fans of Cheryl Cole, wearing 'Team Cheryl' t-shirts, deliver flowers to the star's home this weekend


The 26-year-old superstar's mother Joan Callaghan, 49, was comforting her at the property near Godalming, Surrey, where they have stayed all weekend.

On Saturday night, when approached by a reporter, Mrs Callaghan refused to comment on reports that she had a role to play in her daughter's marriage problems.

When the allegations were put to her over the house's intercom system, she hung up straight away.

The police presence which had previously been in place outside the property ended as torrential rain battered the south east of England.

Cheryl briefly left her home on Friday night to watch Lady Gaga perform at London's O2 Arena, but she has not been seen in public since.

Cheryl has cancelled virtually all of her TV and radio appearances she was due to give to promote her new single, Parachute, which is released on March 15. She was scheduled to be interviewed on Jonathan Ross’ BBC chatshow the Thursday before, but has now pulled out.

Over the weekend, Cheryl's home was besieged by fans hoping to lift the heartbroken star's spirits.

Three Girls Aloud fans turned up outside the star's £6million mansion in Surrey, hoping to offer the love-split singer their support.

Bournemouth University students Juliet Crouch, Verity Coles, both 21, and Charlie Jessey, 22, drew hearts around their lips with black felt-tip pens and stood outside shouting: 'We love you Cheryl.'

They also pulled their down their tops and scrawled 'Cheryl' across their chests.

Verity said: 'We all love Cheryl. There's no doubt she should kick Ashley out for good. We all feel very sorry for her and just wanted to let her know she has a lot of support. Everyone is on her side.'


source: dailymail