Ashley Cole set for £22m divorce

zocoss SG

Desperate to hide the affair from long-suffering wife Cheryl he rang lover Ann Corbitt in a panic again and again, begging her to stay quiet about their wild four hours of sex in a Seattle hotel room.

In tears, the Chelsea and England star pleaded: "I can't lose my wife over this. If I lose my wife, I don't want to live."

Speaking for the first time about the scandal, Ann, a 28-year-old local government worker, last night told the News of the World she only discovered Cole was married after they slept together.

She revealed: "When he rang me and cried I asked him, 'What's wrong with you? Why do you cheat? Why did you have sex with me behind your wife's back?'

"But he just replied that he didn't know. He admitted he'd cheated on her before and been exposed in the press. He was most vehement that I was the first person he'd cheated with. . . since the last time he got caught! I think he's got a problem."

Heartbroken pop star and X Factor judge Cheryl will be devastated by details of her philandering hubby's latest betrayal. In a sensational interview, Ann detailed how Cole:

Cole seduced Ann while he was on a pre-season US tour with Chelsea last July. "All in all, the sex lasted three or four hours," she told us. "I was very taken aback by how intimate he was and how needy he was.

"It was like having sex with a boyfriend, someone who loves you. Ashley took my clothes off and was incredibly attentive.

"He was a creative and adventurous lover. At the end he was satisfied and so was I. He was aiming to please, not just out to satisfy himself.

"When we went to sleep, he wanted to snuggle up close. I don't like sleeping like that and he made me too hot.

"But even when I moved to the other side of the bed Ashley still wanted to hold hands and have that contact. And that was sweet."

Ann had been introduced to Cole on Friday July 17 by a friend whose partner is a former British football official and already knew Cole. They all met up at Seattle's Four Seasons Hotel ahead of Chelsea's Saturday game against the Seattle Sounders.

Almost from the start Ashley was captivated by Ann. But she was far from impressed. Ann, who works for local politician Tom Rasmussen, recalled: "Ashley was small and slight like a little bird, but he was very polite and seemed fun.

"The whole time we were talking he was slumped down in his seat, wearing jogging pants and looking totally out of place in the grand surroundings of the hotel. I really didn't pay him much attention.

"When he started a conversation about being famous and claiming he was 'hounded by the press' I remember thinking, 'You're no Brad Pitt!'

"I told him straight, 'Oh, come on! If you're going to be famous, you've got to court the press!' And with that we started sparring back and forth.

"But instead of being annoyed with me, Ashley was impressed. He even whispered under his breath to our mutual friend, 'Hmm, she's witty!' So there was a spark from the start and I started noticing how much attention he was paying to me.

"When I mentioned that I was throwing a baby shower for my friend and couldn't come to watch him play next day, he wouldn't accept that. He kept telling me, 'You've GOT to come! You've GOT to!' "

On the way home with her friends Ann discovered just HOW keen Ashley was on her. "The guy in our group was texting back and forth to someone and giggling like a girl," she said.

"When I asked who he was messaging, he replied, 'Ash.' Then he showed me a photo Ashley had sent him to show me. It was a picture he'd taken of himself wearing a disgusting pair of tiny whities - briefs.

"He looked really skinny and was smoking a cigarette. I thought it was really gross. Just nasty."

Ann had no idea this was a trademark part of Cole's technique in pulling women behind Cheryl's back. It worked a treat on soccer club secretary Vicki Gough, who was last week revealed as yet another conquest.

Ann added: "My friend told me, 'Ashley wants you to send a picture back.' So I made an ugly face and stuck fingers up either side of my head like devil horns - not a flirtatious picture at all.

"When Ashley texted back asking us to come back to the hotel my friend immediately sensed something wasn't quite right and said, 'Hell, no!' I was happy to go home." Next day Chelsea beat the local side 2-0 and in the evening Cole was out with the other players. Ann met them at the Amber lounge bar and Cole made a beeline for her.

She said: "As soon as he saw me, he called out, 'There she is, the little devil!' referring to my picture, and rushed over excitedly.

"From that moment he attached himself to my side like a little puppy. Wherever I went, he followed. It never crossed my mind he might be married. I didn't think that someone would be so full-on and publicly affectionate with me if he was attached. Ashley was openly cuddling and kissing me.

"When he told me, 'I fancy you, you're really beautiful' I just laughed it off and joked, 'Neat!' "

The party eventually moved to The War Room club where Ashley and Ann continued to get close. She said: "Ashley wanted me to sit next to him, hold hands and sit on his lap.

"At one point someone spilled beer on the floor and it splashed up with all the dirt on to my leg. Ashley immediately grabbed it and licked the mess off. That really grossed me out."

Shortly before midnight, the party was abruptly cut short by the Chelsea curfew, which meant all players had to be back in their hotel rooms by 12. But Ashley was determined to take Ann with him.

She told us: "I was starting to have fun when the team driver came in the club and told the players to pay their tabs so they could head back.

"Ashley immediately started begging me to return to the hotel with him. He said despite the curfew he was still allowed guests in his room.

"At first I told him, 'Just because YOU have to go don't ruin MY fun. Maybe I'll come later.'

"But he begged so much I eventually agreed to go with him, along with our friends. But when we got outside, there was no room in the Chelsea van because some really trashy-looking blondes had already climbed inside. I'd no idea where they appeared from.

"I said something snotty and joked they were taking our seats and, quick as a flash, Ashley kicked them out!

"Back in his suite he immediately lit up a cigarette and started chain-smoking. I was shocked that he was a sports star and smoking so heavily. There was an ashtray full of butts and the room was really messy and smoky.

"At first two other players and my friends were in the room too, but they very quickly left. So by about 1am Ashley and I were alone, just lying on the top of the bedcovers and chatting.

"Ashley was begging me to stay and, as I was having a good time, I thought I might as well. He kept telling me, 'Just stay and sleep.' So that was the pretence that I stayed under. I'd just sleep and leave in the morning. But almost immediately after that we started fooling around.

"When I raised the issue of a condom Ashley acted like he was really shocked. He told me he couldn't believe I'd asked. He said having a condom would suggest he was banking on sex.

"So we carried on like that for a bit, him trying it on and me stopping him, But, in the end, we did have unprotected sex. It's the only thing about the evening that I'm ashamed about.

"Next morning I was up first and immediately felt awkward. But Ashley was just the same as the previous night and wanted to fool around. So we had sex again.

"He had a full itinerary but said, 'Why don't you stay here all day. You can have a bath, order room service and wait for me.'

"Twice he asked if he could see me again that night. I told him I had to go home during the day so he asked for my phone number and stressed, 'You are coming back, right?'

"At one point he asked if I wanted him to get someone from Chelsea to take me out of the hotel the back way, in case I was seen. I thought that was terrible." But Ann got a bigger shock when she arrived home and checked out her new lover on the internet.

She recalled: "I discovered he was married - and had cheated before," she said. "I couldn't believe it. I was so stunned I was hyperventilating."

In fact Ann is the FOURTH girl caught up in the Cole scandals. He was exposed in 2008 for bedding hairdresser Aimee Walton. Last week it was revealed X-rated pictures of him were sent from his mobile to model Sonia Wild. Then the white pants seduction that led to him bedding secretary Vicki came to light.

After finding out the truth I'd no intention of meeting up with Ashley again," said Ann.

Next day, instead of confronting the sports star over his deceit, confused Ann sent a text asking HIM to keep their one-night stand quiet.

"It all now seemed a huge mistake and I just wanted to forget about it," she said.

"I messaged something like, 'Great to meet you but can we keep a lid on this please?' Ashley called straight back. He said he was at the airport. He was laughing and said, 'Wow, no girl has ever said that to me before!'"

Cole then followed up with a text saying: "Your so cute, thank you for a lovely time. x. I will not say a word. x."

But by Wednesday July 22 Cole was the one in a panic, when rumours of the fling surfaced. He repeatedly called Ann.

"Ashley started ringing me all hours," she said. "It got really annoying. He'd get distraught and start mumbling and crying how he didn't want to lose his wife.

"Half hour on he'd call again. And then again 15 minutes later.

"That went on the whole time he was in the US.

"After Chelsea went home I never heard directly from him again.

"But the mess he's in is all his own fault. He's behaved like a jerk."

zocoss SG

Cheryl

A message for Ashley? As Cheryl Cole arrives at a Los Angeles recording studio this morning, her t-shirt read 'I left my heart in Beverly Hills'

Steve Atkins

Emails: Chelsea's Steve Atkins advised Ann on how to proceed

A senior executive at Chelsea Football Club advised Ashley Cole on how to silence allegations over his infidelity.

The club’s head of media Steve Atkins sent an email to political aide Ann Corbitt – the fourth girl linked to the England defender – detailing a course of action for keeping their encounter secret.

The readiness of the club to involve itself in the affair will anger Cole’s wife Cheryl, who is telling friends their marriage is over and has given the player an ultimatum to be out of their marital home when she returns from working in Los Angeles.

Mr Atkins also suggested that Miss Corbitt contact Schillings, a law firm at the centre of the controversy over the use of court gagging orders to prevent the public knowing about wrongdoing by sports and showbusiness figures and businesses.

Schillings was behind the disastrous ‘super injunction’ that led to the sacking of Cole’s team-mate John Terry as England captain over his affair with Vanessa Perroncel, the former girlfriend of fellow England defender Wayne Bridge.

PR advice: American political aide Ann Corbitt

Friends of Miss Corbitt, 28, claim she slept with Cole in a hotel in Seattle after meeting him in a nightclub during Chelsea’s pre-season tour of the US last year. Days later, she is said to have ‘panicked’ when details of the liaison were put to her by a newspaper journalist, who confronted her at home.

After declining to comment, Miss Corbitt – a policy adviser to one of Seattle’s most powerful Democrats – is then alleged to have rung Cole’s mobile phone.

He tried to reassure her that she had ‘nothing to worry about’ and, according to friends, passed the phone to Mr Atkins.

But before doing so, Cole, 29, is said to have told the girl: ‘He [Atkins] knows everything that happened and knows what to do.’

Next, there was an exchange of emails between Mr Atkins and Miss Corbitt which started with the PR chief – a former deputy Press secretary at the British Embassy in Washington – asking where she met ‘the boys’.

She replied that it was at a nightclub called Amber. It is not far from her home in the city’s chic Belltown district.

At the time, Cole and his team-mates were celebrating Chelsea’s victory over Seattle Sounders.

A friend said: ‘Ann and Ashley hit it off straight away and they spent most of the rest of that evening by each other’s side. They both had quite a bit to drink and were in high spirits.’

Advice: One of the emails sent to Ann by Chelsea's Steve Atkins

Later, Cole is said to have taken her to Seattle’s Four Seasons hotel and Miss Corbitt, who is single, left the next morning.

Soon after the initial email exchange, Mr Atkins outlined a proposal aimed at suppressing a possible story.

Friends of Miss Corbitt, whose father is a wealthy property investor, have shown The Mail on Sunday copies of the emails which are dated July 22, 2009.

In one, Mr Atkins urges Miss Corbitt: ‘You should be able to back the newspaper off by asking a lawyer to put the paper on notice with a letter along the lines of: “My client is disgusted by the behaviour of paper and journalist as they are trying to bribe her into lying about Ashley Cole.

'That the version of events they put to her were untrue. Our client did meet Ashley Cole with friends, was not alone with him and has not now, or at any time, had any form of a sexual or other relations with him.

'This is not only defamatory, but a gross invasion of our client’s privacy and having discussed this with her family she will take action unless the newspaper confirms they will not publish these falsehoods, which may be aimed at Ashley Cole, but also affect our client by their nature.”’

Finally, Mr Atkins suggests that should Miss Corbitt or her lawyer feel ‘further advice or action is required you should contact Gideon Benaim at “Schillings”.’ He said the law firm was ‘well versed in this sort of case and will be best placed to offer advice’.

Mr Atkins insists that both Cole and Miss Corbitt had told him they had not slept together. However, she would have known, if she had followed his advice, that she was making a false statement.

Had this statement been made to a court, which Mr Atkins appears to consider in another email as a possibility, she would have been committing perjury.

Mr Benaim was ‘partner of the year’ in the 2008 Lawyer Awards and specialises in ‘reputation protection’ for high-profile individuals and leading business entrepreneurs.

The disclosure that a Chelsea official was involved in an attempt to prevent details of Cole’s infidelity becoming public is likely to further embarrass the club’s billionaire owner Roman Abramovich. At the behest of the Russian oligarch, senior executive Ron Gourlay ordered a team meeting to demand the players’ behaviour improve.

Friends of Miss Corbitt say she appears to be torn between her ‘serious’ side and the restless and potentially damaging streak which is believed to have led to her one-night stand with Cole.

She grew up in Bellingham, a picturesque town framed by snow-capped mountains that overlooks a bay 90 miles from Seattle. Academically, she was a high-flier, gaining a place at Bellingham’s prestigious Western Washington University to read communications and politics.

After working for a Washington State senator, she became a fundraiser for the United Way, one of America’s largest charities, before taking her first major step up the political ladder in 2005 when she came to the attention of Tom Rasmussen, Seattle’s first openly gay councilman.

He put her in charge of his constituency relations office. She is now his chief policy-making adviser and also clerk of the influential transport committee he chairs, overseeing multi-million-pound projects.

When The Mail on Sunday contacted Miss Corbitt to discuss the allegations, she refused to comment and referred all inquiries to media expert Max Clifford.

Mr Atkins, who is believed to be in his late 30s, joined Chelsea in 2008 from the British Embassy in Washington, where he held the post of deputy Press secretary.

Last night he said: ‘On the summer tour, a player asked me to help a woman who said she had been approached by a reporter regarding allegations that she had slept with that player. She and the player denied those allegations to me and she asked for advice as to how to proceed.

‘Acting in good faith of those denials, I told her to hire a lawyer who would probably advise her that, through them, she should deny the allegations and indicate that she would take appropriate action if the false allegations were published.’

Cole, meanwhile, has been told by his wife Cheryl to leave the marital home by the time she gets back from LA. The 26-year-old singer, who has pointedly chosen not to wear her wedding ring all week, is said to be devastated by claims that Cole cheated on her with Vicki Gough, a 30-year-old secretary, the latest in a string of alleged infidelities.

Cheryl is understood to have consulted divorce lawyers in the UK while she has been in LA and it is expected that the couple will announce their marriage is over ‘in a matter of weeks’.

According to friends close to the singer and X Factor judge, Cheryl has told her family and friends that she believes more women will come out of the woodwork and that their marriage is beyond repair.

Last week, it emerged that Cole had cheated on his wife with blonde Miss Gough, who claims she had sex with him at a hotel where the Chelsea team were staying.

The revelation came just days after it was revealed that the footballer had sent naked pictures of himself to Page Three girl Sonia Wild.

The Mail on Sunday understands that the Coles’ marriage was over before Christmas, even though the couple attempted to quash rumours with a number of staged appearances.

The pair also spent Valentines Day apart while Cheryl rehearsed for the Brit Awards last Tuesday.

A source close to the star said: ‘Cheryl has a few more days in LA before she returns and she has told Ashley she wants him out the house when she gets back.

‘She can’t bear to be in the same room as him at the moment. She says he has absolutely humiliated her. If he hasn’t moved out, she will stay in the house they built for her mother in the grounds of the estate. She doesn’t want to be anywhere near him.’

Cheryl has been in daily touch with her X Factor mentor Simon Cowell, who is understood to be masterminding her career in the US.

‘There’s no love lost between Simon and Ashley. Simon thinks Ashley is an idiot and that Cheryl can do much better,’ said the friend. ‘He’s told her in no uncertain terms to call it a day.’

Cheryl is also said to have found a ‘shoulder to cry on’ in the shape of Cowell’s girlfriend Mezghan Hussainy.

Meanwhile, sources close to Cole say he is resigned to the fact that his marriage is over. His aides apparently advised him to try to pay Miss Gough in return for her silence, but because Cole knew his wife was aware of the affair, he saw ‘no point’ in taking on expensive damage limitation.

Y_Shun SG

How can you cheat on Cheryl Cole... of all people.

Disappointed in Ashely :(

dinky1409 SG

wtf? his wife is so much hotter.. siao ah this dude..

dukedracula SG

of all the wags, this one is probably the one that's worth keeping the dick in the pants, cheryl is accomplished and hot...unlike the many porn look alike wags...ashley is a dick head...

Bo|2eDtoDeath SG

England is full of sluts who love selling their sex scandal to the press. No wonder players want to play in europe now.....You come here for career and could quite possibility end up in a sex scandal headline....

6868 SG

Agree that Cheryl is much hotter ...

Bus&Soccer l0v3r (VO3x 1) SG

ok

go sgsexforums post lar

I-like-flings(m) SG

ok

go sgsexforums post lar

u dun sabo lah.. wait he go sgsexforums to post about football how??

Bus&Soccer l0v3r (VO3x 1) SG

u dun sabo lah.. wait he go sgsexforums to post about football how??

eh like help u some popularity leh

zocoss SG

Cheryl Cole

It's over: Cheryl Cole, pictured here arriving at London's Heathrow airport yesterday, has announced she is separating from her husband Ashley

Cheryl Cole split from her cheating husband Ashley yesterday after a tumultuous three-and-a-half-year marriage - and now faces a £22million divorce battle. After enduring more than a week of humiliating revelations about the Chelsea defender's serial betrayals, the X Factor judge finally declared their union was over.

The 26-year-old confirmed the split hours after arriving home from a week in Los Angeles, where she had been counselled by close friends including Simon Cowell and dancer Derek Hough.

The singer - who has 'Mrs Cole' tattooed on the back of her neck - and the 29-year-old England defender now face an acrimonious struggle as they divide up their estimated £22million fortune.

The Daily Mail has learned that Cole has already told his glamorous wife she will have to battle to get any of his money - and blames all their marriage woes on her mother Joan, 49, moving into their nine-bedroom £6million Surrey mansion.

A brief statement issued by the singer yesterday said: 'Cheryl Cole is separating from her husband Ashley Cole. 'Cheryl asks the media to respect her privacy during this difficult time. We have no further comment to make.'

Last night it was reported that Ashley Cole bombarded his wife with desperate phone calls begging her to save their marriage and even offered to go to rehab to tackle his sex problems.

He was said to have left a string of emotional voicemails begging the X Factor star to reconsider their separation, but she refused to answer the calls, according to The Sun.

Cole's last ditch attempt to save his marriage mirrors that of Tiger Woods, another sports hero who has fallen from grace, who went to rehab.

Cheryl is now expected to take up Simon Cowell's offer for her to appear on the new U.S. version of The X Factor - a far cry from her plans to try for a baby next year - and has already looked at a £2.1million Spanish-style villa in the Hollywood Hills.

Mrs Cole had told her husband she wanted a divorce before flying to Los Angeles for work and wanted him out of the house by the time she got home.

The couple did not sign a pre-nuptial agreement before their wedding in 2006, with Mrs Cole famously saying: 'I think that's defeating the point.

'We're getting married because we're committing ourselves to each other to spend the rest of our lives together. No ifs and buts.

'We're a work in progress, we're going to build our married life together not thinking about if it ever ends.'

A source close to Mrs Cole said last night: 'This was a terrible decision for Cheryl to make, it's the worst thing she's ever had to do, but enough was enough.

'She is resting at home with her mum Joan and all her friends around her. Her Girls Aloud bandmates are supporting her. 'Yesterday was just exhausting and she just spent the evening relaxing with a plate of beans on toast.'

Cat who's got the cream: Derek Hough was beaming as he emerged from Cheryl's West Hollywood hotel at 4am with his Yorkshire terrier

Mrs Cole's friends were quick to speak out in support, with her fellow X Factor judge Louis Walsh saying: 'I think the world of Cheryl, she's a great girl. 'She deserves somebody amazing. She will be absolutely fine - she's a fantastic, strong star.'

A source close to Cole, who is paid £82,000 a week by Chelsea, said he blames their marriage woes on the fact that her mother Joan lives with them.

The friend said: 'Cheryl told Ashley she wanted out of the marriage last week, he's in a terrible state.

'He loves Cheryl with all his heart and never wanted it to come to this. But now that Cheryl has pulled the plug, his love has turned to anger and he told her, "You'll have to fight for any of my money".

'He blames everything on Joan living with them, but Cheryl insisted on it after he cheated on her. But he keeps saying, "How could our marriage stand a chance?"'

ashley cole

Feeling down: Cole is currently sidelined with an ankle injury

In an interview last October, Mrs Cole said she had been left heartbroken by Cole's infidelity with hairdresser Aimee Walton in 2007, which was made public in 2008, saying: 'I've come to the conclusion that I don't trust anybody in life except my mother and my dogs.'

But she went on to insist she had a 'happy' marriage, describing Cole as 'a genuine nice person'.

Cole's cheating was exposed this month after it was revealed that explicit pictures of him were sent from his phone to Page Three girl Sonia Wild.

Last week Mrs Cole was devastated when allegations emerged claiming that he had slept with Vicki Gough, a 30-year-old secretary at Liverpool FC.

One of Cole's alleged one night stands - the fourth to come forward - then claimed he had sobbed down the phone to her that he would die if he lost his wife over their fling.

He is said to have pleaded with U.S. political aide Ann Corbitt to keep quiet about twice having sex with her in a Seattle hotel last July when Chelsea was on a pre-season tour.

A fifth alleged flame, Alexandra Taylor, also came forward to say she had sex with Cole on the night he 'went public' with Cheryl in late 2004.

The 'other women': Ashley has been linked to Alexandra Taylor (left) and Ann Corbitt, who claims she slept with Cole while he was on tour in the U.S....

...and he also allegedly had liaisons with hairdresser Aimee Walton, glamour model Sonia Wild and Liverpool club secretary Vicki Gough

zocoss SG

John Terry

Sign of the times: The banner was hung near Cheryl's Surrey home

John Terry has had to motor on through the storm surrounding his alleged affairs - but he wasn't expecting to see this sign along the road.

After Cheryl Cole announced her split from husband Ashley, pranksters hung a huge banner over a bridge near her home in Surrey. It read: 'Cheryl call me, love JT xxx'

Chelsea captain Terry, who reportedly cheated on his wife Toni with Wayne Bridge's ex Vanessa Perroncel, has had to handle the backlash from his misbehaviour.

And he wouldn't have been best pleased if he'd spotted this sign oh his travels near his own home...

Bridge too far: Drivers stopped to admire the prankster's work

Centre of attention: John Terry (left) and Ashley Cole with Cheryl