The X Factor presenter Cheryl Cole is to leave her husband, the footballer Ashley Cole, her spokesman confirmed today.
Speculation has raged around the couple since fresh allegations of her husband's infidelity came to light and this afternoon the 26-year-old released a statement that confirmed she was ending the three-and-a-half-year marriage.
"Cheryl Cole is separating from her husband, Ashley Cole," it said. "Cheryl asks the media to respect her privacy during this difficult time. We have no further comment to make."
The singer jetted to the US after performing her song Fight for this Love at the Brit awards last week. After spending a week in the States, while her husband nursed a fractured ankle in their Surrey home, Cole flew back to Heathrow airport this morning wearing a trilby and large dark glasses, and no wedding ring.
Cheryl found fame with the girl band Girls Aloud and the couple wed in 2006. Until today, Cole had kept a dignified silence about her husband's string of alleged infidelities.
On Monday she was pictured in LA with the US dancer Derek Hough, 24, who she met while re cording her album 3 Words. A spokesman later said the pair were friends and part of a large group.
Speculation about the possibility that Cole would leave the UK for the US was heightened by reports she had viewed several properties in Los Angeles in the past week.
Her husband is embattled on both the domestic and professional front, and could face sanctions from his club, Chelsea, because of the allegations about his off-field behaviour. The left-back could be brought in front of the Chelsea board as early as Friday. He faces the possibility of being transferred, although a large fine is more likely.
The possible sanctions come after Ron Gourlay, Chelsea's chief executive, warned the squad last week that any further controversies that risked tarnishing the club's reputation would not be tolerated and would result in disciplinary action. Fresh allegations aimed at Cole subsequently emerged in the Sunday newspapers.
Cole is said to feel unfairly targeted after no action was taken against Chelsea's captain John Terry, who was alleged to have had an affair with the former partner of Wayne Bridge. The England captain lost his armband as a result but was not taken to task by his club.
Cole was first accused of infidelity with hairdresser Aimee Watson in 2008. Fresh allegations emerged earlier this month, when it was claimed explicit pictures of him were sent to glamour model Sonia Wild.
Last week, claims that he had sex with Vicki Gough, a 30-year-old secretary at Liverpool emerged. The US political aide Ann Corbitt was the fourth woman claiming to have had a fling with the footballer. She told the media he said he would die if he lost his wife over their fling.
A fifth alleged sexual partner, Alexandra Taylor, said she had sex with Cole on the night he made public his relationship with Cheryl in 2004.
Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/feb/23/cheryl-cole-leaves-ashley