Simon Cowell: My nightmare fallout with Cheryl

Simon Cowell has claimed Cheryl Fernandez-Versini appeared “crazy” on the US X Factor and described their fallout as a “nightmare”.

The duo’s friendship came to an abrupt end when Simon, 54, fired the singer from the US show just weeks into her high-profile job.

Simon said that the judge, 31, who had “put on a bit of weight” and whose confidence had plummeted following the end of her marriage to Ashley Cole, had become unrecognisable.