By Matthew Drake, 06/06/2010
The England star - in South Africa for the World Cup - fell for
sexy Sarah Purnell, 23, in a London club five weeks ago.
And Ashley was given a special World Cup send-off by his sexy
new girlfriend after she arrived at his luxury bachelor pad around
midnight on Tuesday.
Neighbours revealed the former lapdancer - in skinny black
jeans, tight vest top and cardigan - emerged two hours later as he
yelled, "See you later, Sexy Bum," from an upstairs
window.
Later that day Ashley, 29, flew to South Africa with the rest of
the England squad.
Today, we can reveal the England defender fell for Sarah after a
chance meeting in a west London nightclub five weeks ago.
Since then they have been in daily contact, with Sarah privately
comforting Ashley as he struggles to come to terms with his bitter
split from the X Factor judge and nation's sweetheart.
Cheryl, 26, filed for divorce this week on the grounds of
Ashley's unreasonable behaviour after he was exposed for cheating
on her with four women.
The Girls Aloud singer was romantically linked first
with Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.i.am and last week we told how
she spent two nights at the marital home in Surrey with her dancer
pal Derek Hough.
But now it's clear that Ashley, too, is moving on. A friend of
Sarah told us last night: "Things are definitely heating
up.
"Sarah is absolutely over the moon about their relationship but
has been very secretive about it and hardly told a soul.
"She spent the first night at his and it was all very romantic.
Ashley was a perfect gentleman and treated her like a
princess.
"She hasn't got a bad word to say about him and has
defended him when people have tried to have a go about Cheryl or
the end of his marriage.
"He's been the complete opposite of the man everybody thinks
they know.
"Ashley has not done anything sleazy at all and has been
extremely charming with her. He seems to really care for
Sarah.
"They text each other all day and Sarah has spoken to him nearly
every day since they met.
"He even told her she looks the spitting image of Cheryl but
she's getting used to that.
"Most people tell her she resembles Cheryl but Sarah is
definitely her own person. She's no wannabe."
Chelsea star Ashley first spotted Sarah at a party which
followed his pal David Hayes' heavyweight boxing world championship
victory in Manchester on April 3.
But he did not get a chance to meet her until May 2, when both
went to fancy dress night Swankys at the Super Club in London's
Notting Hill.
Sarah arrived late in an ultra-tight black and neon pink
mini-dress.
Her friend told us: "Sarah turned up in a very short dress and
was instantly hit by lots of male attention. Being a dancer she is
toned and has the perfect figure to pull it off. She and a mate
were busy dancing and enjoying a couple of vodka, lime and
lemonades on the dance floor before they recognised some of the
Chelsea reserve team players."
One of the reserves beckoned the girls over to the VIP area
where guests lounge on beds.
The source went on: "Sarah is not the type to get star-struck
and when her mate first pointed out Ashley Cole being there she
hardly seemed to care at all.
"It was only later when they were sat next to each other on a
bed in the VIP section that they got chatting.
"Even then Sarah didn't seem too bothered about sitting with a
celeb. She was a bit tipsy because she doesn't normally drink. She
likes to party but is no hellraiser and is actually pretty clean
living."
Unimpressed by Ashley, bubbly Sarah even teased him about the
attention he was attracting in the club as girls tried to claw
their way over the beds to get near him.
The friend explained: "She thought it was hilarious
watching all these screaming girls trying to get a piece of
him.
"Sarah was not fazed at all and just wound up Ashley about the
attention he was getting. She even told him she was a Manchester
United fan, which did not go down too well.
"Sarah's never been out with a footballer before and couldn't be
less of a WAG type. She's very down to earth and is a real family
girl.
"She is probably not the normal type of girl he meets and she
never even expected him to buy her a drink. Ashley had to do all
the running to even impress her that night."
Ashley, who was dressed down in brown linen trousers and grey
trainers, then invited Sarah and her pal back to the new home he
shares with friends to continue the party.
The group were seen leaving the night-spot at around 1am and
were driven to the plush apartment complex in Esher, Surrey, by a
chauffeur.
Sarah, who lives in Dudley, West Midlands, spent six months as a
lapdancer from last October.
She earned up to £600 a night at exclusive clubs such as
Spearmint Rhino in central London and Birmingham where punters pay
£40 for a private dance.
She has also danced at Club Heat in Coventry and Legends in
Worcester.
The brunette, who was single for three years before meeting
Ashley, has also been an underwear and fashion model and posed for
glossy magazines.
She is currently trying to forge a career as a singer
and has previously applied for the X Factor, the show Cheryl
judges, but has never auditioned.
Cheryl filed divorce papers in the High Court last week.
Yesterday it was reported that she will get around £4.5million from
her husband after their four-year marriage. Previously it was
believed that she had not asked for any money.
Last night Sarah refused to speak about her relationship with
the footballer, who played golf with his England team-mates after
training yesterday.
But her friend told us: "Ever since the first night Ashley's
been asking her to visit him but she lives a three-hour drive away
and is determined to keep him at a distance while they find out
more about each other.
"It's hard because he's going to be away for quite a while.
Sarah knows how much the World Cup means to Ashley and would never
do anything to jeopardise his chances of playing a starring role
for England in South Africa. He's been genuinely excited about
going but has said he wants to see her again when he comes
back.
"They've mentioned going away on a romantic holiday because
Ashley has had a really hard year. He is facing the prospect of
this divorce and Sarah knows he's still hurting about all
that.
"He has been very low since spliting with Cheryl and Sarah has
been there for him. She knows he's on the rebound and nothing is
certain yet... but so far so good."
