IF there was any doubt about Cheryl Cole wanting to give ex-hubby Ashley a second chance, I can end it now – she has just had a heart-to-heart with his mum!
The Geordie beauty spent yesterday afternoon talking things over with her former mother-in-law, Sue.
Sue, 53, who lives in Chigwell, Essex, is said to have formed a strong bond with Cheryl during the marriage and fought hard to keep her and Ashley together.
She is desperate to see the singer – who has moved back into the old marital home in Godalming, Surrey, with Ashley – properly reunited with her footballer son.
I’m told: “Sue is incredibly fond of Cheryl and is forever singing her praises. She says she is so glad to have her daughter-in-law back.
“She realises how insanely happy Cheryl makes Ashley and believes they are a good team... Sue saw the positive impact which Cheryl had on Ashley. She loves her son and wants the best for him – as far as she is concerned Cheryl was nothing but a positive influence.”
Ashley, 30, is certainly keen to prove he is a changed man.
He flew back across the Atlantic from business meetings with megastar rapper Jay-Z in New York just to be present at Cheryl’s 28th birthday party in London on Friday.If Ashley was worried about what his mum and his ex missus might be saying yesterday, there was no sign of it. The Chelsea player looked relaxed as he was snapped leaving the training ground behind the wheel of his Bentley.
Ashley has admitted: “I’ve made mistakes and have just got to live with it.” And in a new interview he added: “I just wish people would judge me more on football and speak about football more than a life that people don’t really know.”
Friends of the couple say they are keen to put their past troubles behind them and are even talking about re-marriage and babies.
It seems Ashley has become very broody following the birth of his brother Matthew’s second child. My source says: “Family is the most important thing for Ashley – along with his football. Everyone is telling them what good-looking children they would have.”
That would certainly please his mum, who raised him and his brother Matthew single-handedly.
Ashley has said of his mother: “I just try and make her happy.
“She comes and watches every game I play. I play for her as well. As long as I make her smile after the game, it makes me happy.”
Cheryl’s chat with Sue was the first step in getting their respective families to support their decision to give their love another go.
Unfortunately, it looks as if her own mum Joan Callaghan will need a lot more convincing before she gives them her blessing.
At Cheryl’s party, Joan, 51, reportedly fumed: “I don’t want her to have him back. I’ll never forgive him for what he did to her.”
My source says: “Joan has Cheryl’s best interests at heart. She is the person who is most open and honest with her, and was there to pick up the pieces when they split up.
“She wants Cheryl to take her time before she makes any decisions.”
