As she becomes a national treasure, he becomes more petulant: Why Cheryl and Ashley Cole are Mr and Mrs Glum Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/fe

domingo, 8 de noviembre de 2009

The ballroom at Claridge's was alive with chatter and excitement. No detail had been overlooked nor expense spared. The theme of white and gold was reflected in every flower, candle and champagne flute. This was a night for celebration, as pop stars, music industry bosses, models and footballers revelled in their youth, their success, or both.

The table reserved for Girls Aloud was particularly raucous. After seven years together, they were celebrating their first Brit Award. Five identical silver statues stood on their table, each proclaiming their song, The Promise, Best Single 2009.

In high spirits, Nadine Coyle, there with her new boyfriend Jason Bell, took to her feet and began dancing seductively. Bandmates Kimberly Walsh, Nicola Roberts and Sarah Harding joined in as Bell laughed.

Role reversal: Cheryl and Ashley Cole have had to overcome a dramatic reversal of their respective fortunes

Only Cheryl Cole remained seated, next to her footballer husband, Ashley. The couple occupied a little pocket of tension amid the fun. One fellow partygoer recalled: 'They were the Glums.'

'Ashley complained that he was hungry so Cheryl asked for some smoked salmon sandwiches for him. Then he said he was tired, asking when they could go. They ended up leaving at 11pm and heading back to their hotel, when the party was just getting going.'

That was back in February. The downbeat end to Cheryl's evening will come as a surprise to the millions of fans who saw her dazzle at the Brit Awards that night. Centre-stage and in the spotlight, she shone, looking every inch the superstar.

Cheryl Cole with co-judge Simon Cowell on last night's X Factor

And she and Ashley looked every inch the golden couple. But those who knew better might have guessed at the truth betrayed by her husband's tight smile and the way Cheryl pandered to him on a night that should have been all about her and the Girls.

One of the singer's friends said: 'Cheryl and Ashley's marriage is tricky. The more successful and loved she is, the more difficult their relationship becomes. It's a very strange dynamic but Cheryl remains absolutely besotted with him and fiercely loyal.

Every inch the superstar: Cheryl on the catwalk at London Fashion weekend

'The truth is that Ashley is very insecure and that shows in his reaction to his wife's success. He's been down to the studios to watch her on The X Factor twice in 13 weeks and had to be really persuaded by the other girls to go and watch her perform her new single.'

He couldn't muster enough enthusiasm to celebrate his wife's No1 success with her tellingly self-penned single, Fight For This Love. As reported in Katie Nicholl's Diary last week, Cheryl, 26, tearfully cancelled a planned party when her 28-year-old husband refused to go.

The friend added: 'For the past year or so, the pattern of their relationship seems to be that she achieves something, he goes off in a sulk and she spends the next three or four days massaging his ego and building him up again. He can be petulant, pouty and vain. She's walking a tightrope keeping him sweet while trying to cope with work overload.

'She might look like a superstar but Cheryl isn't a diva. She wants to make her husband happy and her success doesn't seem to do that. When her single comes on the radio at home, she turns it down out of consideration for him. There's so much going on for her at the moment - she's got the album, her X Factor role, talk of a US career. It's exciting but nerve-racking and turning up to support Cheryl doesn't sit well with Ashley's need to be the alpha male. That's kind of what he was when they met.'

Certainly over the past 18 months the couple have had to adapt to a radical reversal in their respective fortunes. For however successful Cheryl was as one of Girls Aloud - they are in the Guinness Book of Records as the most successful British Girl Band ever - it is her professional relationship with Simon Cowell that has truly seen her fortunes rocket.

It's hard to believe that it's less than two years since he invited an uncertain Cheryl to join the X Factor judges as a replacement for Sharon Osbourne.

He placed her at his side on the panel. Cheryl spoke her mind, looked exquisite and wept as the dreams of young hopefuls were shattered or came true. The nation fell in love with her as Cowell knew they would. And Cheryl Cole, national treasure and superstar-in-the-making, was born.

But it was Cheryl Tweedy, an altogether less dazzling, less limelight-stealing creature, whom Ashley Cole fell for back in August 2004. The two were living in the same luxury apartment complex in North London at the time. Cheryl was just one of the line-up of five unknowns who had struck lucky in the television show Popstars: The Rivals two years earlier and her place in the nation's affections was far from secure.

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