Cheryl Cole’s secret battle with depression

By Charlotte Fantelli

We have all read how Geordie sweetheart Cheryl, has had her American dreams dashed. I am sure we have all had an opinion – whether it be in camp Cheryl or not, but have any of us stopped to think about what a turbulent and traumatic time she has endured in the last year or two?

Depression

Depression often follows traumatic life experiences, these could be:

Infidelity
Divorce
Near death experience
Sudden illness
Work changes/stress

Cheryl 27, has endured every one of these in the last18 months. All watched by fans and foes alike.

It now comes as no surprise to me that the Girls Aloud star, is said to have been suffering a secret battle against depression.

The Mirror reports that sources say she has been “crying all week” since the news of her axing from X Factor was made public.

The report goes on to say that her problems have been mounting for months after she went to America and felt ‘lonely and homesick’, she has apparently been spending much of her time locked in her room alone ‘stressed over work commitments’.

Rejection

The loss of her marriage, to a man she so obviously adored, the media hit she took whilst judging the UK X Factor last year, and now this blow, must all be deeply difficult for Cheryl to take.

It is bad enough when we go through a tough relationship, lose a job or get sick, but to do it under the intense scrutiny of the media and the public must be doubly hard.

One source said: “Cheryl wasn’t in the right frame of mind to commit to such a big project like The US X Factor and it has ended up making her feel even worse after being rejected.

“Agreeing to be on the panel has turned out to be a huge mistake.”

The American dream

The source added: “She felt lost and just didn’t enjoy life in America.

“She hated having people tell her to smile all the time. It felt false and she didn’t like it.

In recent weeks we have seen Cheryl on the cover of many a woman’s weekly getting ever thinner. Rumours of plastic surgery and fad diets once again add to the pressure of the star, who has in the past, admitted to suffering clinical depression.

Crying inside

One friend said: “She was telling people she wanted to go home and although she was smiling for the cameras she was crying inside.

“Some of the criticism this week is that she didn’t suck up to bigwigs or attend the right events, but she wasn’t in the right frame of mind to do that.

“She had reservations about doing American X Factor from the start. Everyone was telling her to do different things. She felt pulled in all directions.

“She had already been been through a difficult period of feeling very low and extremely depressed.

Rumours of isolation

It has been reported that Cheryl felt shunned by judge Paula Abdul and that she was deliberately not invited to a party the fellow judge hosted.

“Then once filming began things got worse. Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger became friends and she was frozen out. They would be talking about each other’s nails and clothes and Cheryl wasn’t allowed into the conversation. It shattered her confidence.”

Work stress

ITV1 chiefs are believed to have have offered Cheryl £2million to try to get her back on the UK version of x Factor, but after a deadline has already passed, there are rumours she has turned down this job.

It appears that Cheryl’s priority is to get herself better before committing to even more work pressures, a commendable attitude.

After apparently flying home from the states last week, Cheryl is staying with her family.

Simon Cowell is said to be trying to call, but to no avail, he is reportedly concerned that this latest blow could be the end of the pair’s friendship.

When the Mirror asked a source whether she was well enough to be on the judging panel of the UK show, the source added: “It doesn’t seem like there is enough time for her to get over being sacked before the UK auditions start on Wednesday.

“Cheryl is a fighter and is overwhelmed by the public support she has received here in the UK. But she is so hurt at the moment. Stepping out and working on X Factor so soon may be too much for her.”

History of depression

In 2009 Cheryl told Vogue she was a ‘worrier’ and revealed she once suffered from clinical depression.

“That’s one of my problems – I do worry about things. I’m probably going to end up dying with worry.” She added: “I was clinically depressed once after a bad relationship. We have it in the family.”

Whatever her professional decision, the sort of pressure she has recently endured is worrying for someone with a history of mental health problems and those around Cheryl should be looking to make her state of mind a priority.

Cheryl will undoubtedly need time to rebuild herself, and we at Uncovered hope that she continues to take the steps she needs to surround herself with those she can trust.

The media has a responsibility to allow her this time of recovery – remembering that without a sound mind and good health she will not be able to work as hard as she has been.