IN 2010 Cheryl Cole was lying, sweat pouring out of her, in the intensive care ward of a tropical diseases hospital battling a potentially fatal bout of malaria.
It was the last of a series of cruel twists in the ultimate rags-to-riches tale of a stunning working-class Geordie.
She had money, fame, good looks and a hugely successful career, plus she was married to England soccer star Ashley Cole.
But just like the plot of a classic chick-lit novel, it all unravelled spectacularly. It has taken three years to get the show back on the road.
Cheryl quietly picked up the pieces of her broken personal life, took a big career blow from X Factor USA on the chin, and is about to confine the bad memories to the past with a huge celebration in the US to mark her milestone 30th birthday today.
And she has told her closest friends and family that there is one present she wants more than anything in the world — to start her own family.
Five thrive ... Cheryl, centre, in Girls Aloud's Hits Tour 2013 in February
A close pal and trusted mentor told The Sun: "Cheryl is the happiest she has ever been.
"She feels she has grown up so much in the last five years. She is a fiercely independent woman who knows what she wants now — and nothing will get in the way.
"She has finally found a balance in her life that she has never had before — and she is ready to start a family. She doesn't just want to be a mother to one child, she wants a proper gang, like her own upbringing in Newcastle.
'She's happy with Tre. He could be the one' "She has often said she wouldn't want her children to grow up lonely. The more the merrier, as far as she is concerned."
Cheryl is the fourth of five children to beloved mum Joan Callaghan and dotes on the army of nieces and nephews she has through her half-sister Gillian and half-brothers Joseph and Andrew. Her younger brother, Garry, remains estranged from the whole family.
The big question among all her closest pals is whether she has found the right man in choreographer Tre Holloway to father the family she craves so badly.
The source added: "Cheryl is really happy with Tre. It took her a long time to trust another man and relax after what happened with Ashley.
"Her 20s were really tough and she doesn't want any more drama after the last marriage failed. She has put a bad experience behind her.
"Who knows about Tre? She is putting no pressure on him at all, but they are very close and make a great couple. He could be the one."
Smitten ... Cheryl Cole with new boyfriend Tre Holloway
Xposure
In 2004 I interviewed Cheryl for the first time. Girls Aloud were two years into their career and the Geordie firecracker was in her sharp-tongued prime.
She had earned a reputation for being gobby, feisty and fearless when it came to defending her turf in the biggest girl band in the country.
At the time I had been tipped off that she was dating Newcastle United and England midfielder Kieron Dyer, so I asked the big question.
She replied: "No chance, I'd never marry a f***ing footballer!"
It's a shame that she never heeded her own advice. Within months she was dating Ashley, and the rest is tabloid history. The interview was set up as her first chat following a 120-hour stint doing community service in Newcastle. She told me it was "canny" sanding benches "with a bunch of skinheads".
She had been found guilty of ABH in 2003, after an altercation with a toilet attendant, Sophie Amogbokpa, in The Drink club in Guildford, Surrey. She was also ordered to pay her victim £500 in compensation, as well as £3,000 prosecution costs.
Cheryl spent a long time erasing that incident from her CV — and by the time she first starred on The X Factor in 2008 the nation had dismissed the whole saga. She had started dating Ashley Cole in September 2004, and the tabloid newspaper industry was presented with a gift that kept on giving for the best part of eight years. But it was a painful ordeal for Cheryl, who ended up forgiving her husband twice over claims of adultery.
The word "turbulent" would best sum up those years — finding pop stardom, chalking up a criminal conviction then a spell of community service, winning the nation's hearts on The X Factor, marrying and divorcing a footballer, catching malaria and nearly meeting her maker.
Hot Cole ... Cheryl with ex-husband Ashley in 2009
It explains why the loveable Geordie is making a good old-fashioned song and dance about this birthday.
She has spent a six-figure fortune on flying her nearest and dearest to LA for a weekend they will never forget. She has arranged a huge knees-up in Vegas, rented a mansion in Malibu and plans to cap the celebrations in the UK for her extended family on her return this summer.
'She won't be back on The X Factor' Her Girls Aloud pals Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh will be there for the duration, but Nadine Coyle and Sarah Harding will be absent after a fractious end to the career of the band which won 2002 talent show Popstars: The Rivals.
But such baggage, so often at the centre of public slanging matches, is nowhere near the front of Cheryl's mind. The source added: "This is a woman who has never been so comfortable in her own skin.
"She is happy, confident, healthy and reinvigorated. She said recently she is the happiest she has ever been. She plans to get her career going again and get involved in management and mentoring pop stars.
"She has left her management on good terms and is taking her time about a return to music."
Over the past 18 months Cheryl has deliberately slipped below the radar in a bid to recover from the lifetime of drama which she crammed into the Noughties.
Because she's worth it ... Cheryl Cole for L'Oreal
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She has been back in Newcastle where she grew up, living with her mum and spending as much time with the family as possible. She now plans to live between her London home and LA, where Tre is based full-time with his thriving choreography career.
She has already been given an early 30th birthday present with the news that one of her four businesses has posted profits of £1.4million. There may also be a huge pay-off from Blue Orchid, the production company which Cheryl claims killed her US X Factor dream, as a long-running court case comes to an end.
She has even managed to rebuild her relationship with Simon Cowell, who failed to keep her career alive across the Atlantic when she needed him most.
The source added: "She won't be back on The X Factor. She loves doing normal things she hasn't been able to do for so long, like cooking and being with her dogs. Her nieces and nephews get all her attention, ahead of pop wannabes.
"Will.i.am is still helping her with her music and the next thing will be time in the studio. She wants to be a mum and keep her career bubbling along. Over the past year she has been feeling really optimistic about everything — she thinks this is going to be her decade."
A wise man in the music industry once told me: "You learn in your 20s, earn in your 30s and enjoy your 40s." She is a third of the way there and looking good to tick off the rest.
Cheryl at 30
30 June 1983
Cheryl Ann Tweedy is born in Newcastle upon Tyne to mum Joan and dad Garry.
Home life
She is raised on council estates in the Newcastle suburbs of Walker and Heaton.
School
From 1994 to 1999 she attends Walker Comprehensive School but is suspended twice – once for fighting, once for swearing.
Audition
In August 2002 she auditions for Popstars: The Rivals and is voted in to join Girls Aloud
Assault
In January 2003, Cheryl attacks nightclub attendant Sophie Amogbokpa. In October she is found guilty of assault causing actual bodily harm and sentenced to 120 hours of community service.
Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud have had 20 Top Tens, including four No1s. Cheryl made six albums with Girls Aloud – two hit No1.
Ashley Cole
Cheryl starts dating Ashley Cole in September 2004, they get engaged in Dubai in June 2005 and are married on July 15, 2006, with a £1million OK! magazine deal for pictures. In the same month they hit a cheesy phase when they launch the National Lottery Dream Number game with this photoshoot.
Ashley's affair
In January 2008 hairdresser Aimee Walton reveals her affair with Ashley in The Sun. But he and Cheryl stay together.
X Factor
In 2008 she is hired as an X Factor judge. In 2011 she quits to become a US X Factor judge – but she is fired after just three weeks.
Success
2009 is a good year for Cheryl. She launches her solo career with the album 3 Words and is named the face of L'Oreal.
Ashley cheats again
In February 2010 Cheryl's world comes crashing down as it is revealed that Ashley has had FIVE more affairs. It's too much this time and sad Cheryl finally files for divorce.
Malaria
In July 2010 she suffers another blow when she is diagnosed with malaria after a safari holiday in Tanzania with the new man in her life, dancer Derek Hough. Fortunately she survives – but the new relationship does not.
Tre
In August 2012 Cheryl steps out with another new man – and he is another dancer, Tre Holloway. It seems she may have finally put the heartbreak of Ashley's cheating behind her and found happiness at last.
Turning 30
After Girls Aloud do one last tour and split, what next for Cheryl at 30?
g.smart@the-sun.co.uk
Source : http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/4990345/cheryl-cole-30th-birthday.html
