Dannii Minogue fled the UK after X Factor rumours of a fling with boss Simon Cowell left her 'broken'.
The now 52-year-old star joined the judging panel of the ITV talent show in 2007 alongside show originals Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, and Sharon Osbourne.
But her four years on The X Factor left Dannii riddled with 'anxiety, depression, and stress'. Things got so bad that Dannii quit to return to her native homeland of Australia.
Whispers of an affair with head judge Simon began to circulate, and Dannii's credibility for the talent show job was questioned by everyone from Graham Norton to Noel Gallagher.
Dannii, who once joked she couldn't wait to be "up close and personal on a daily basis with Simon," was then spotted holding hands with the music mogul in a car after Children In Need - sending the rumour mill into overdrive.
Strictly's Hamza 'devastated' after partner Jowita 'snubbed' him for Giovanni
Dannii Minogue was rumoured to have an affair with Simon Cowell during their time on The X Factor (Ken McKay/Talkback Thames/REX/Shutterstock)
Dannii denied anything happened between them (PA)At the time, the presenter dismissed the gossip, saying: "That man could flirt with a book, a wall, anything. I don't fancy him, and I don't have a type I go for, but I like a man who makes me laugh, who's intelligent and speaks his mind," reports OK.
But according to an interview for the unauthorised biography, Sweet Revenge: The Intimate Life of Simon Cowell, the 64-year-old was smitten with Dannii. "I had a crush on her," he said. "It was genuine love. I was like a schoolboy. She was foxy. She was a real man's girl. Very feminine."
Dannii's close bond with Simon began to irk outspoken fellow judge Sharon Osbourne.
Sharon accused Dannii of 'sleeping with the boss' (ITV)The acid-tongued star lashed out at Danni in her autobiography, claiming: "She had an uppity attitude as she was f***ing the boss."
Opening up on the alleged feud to Piers Morgan on Life Stories, Sharon said: "I didn't hate her because hatred is very close to love and takes a lot of emotion and I don't have that time for her. She was like an insect, a mosquito that wouldn't go away."
Dannii was heartbroken by the comments and compared Sharon to a 'school bully.' Hitting out in her autobiography, Dannii penned: "I had to put up with insults flying at me both on and off screen. Over the course of the next year, Sharon announced to anyone who would listen that I was impossible to work with (but never explained why), that I was only on The X Factor because of my looks, not any visible talent or contribution to the entertainment industry, and Simon employed me only because he wanted to sleep with me."
The X Factor judges often stole the show with viewers eager to see what Dannii and Cheryl were wearing each week (Ken McKay/Rex Features)Girls Aloud star to solo pop star Cheryl went on to replace Sharon, and competed with Dannii every week to steal the show with their dazzling fashion.
X Factor continued to peak but behind the scenes, Dannii says she was 'broken' by her experience.
Things came to a head when Dannii broke down in tears during a live Saturday night show as months of negative press and Sharon's nasty comments took a toll. She told the Independent: "I just had this feeling of wanting to stand up and walk off the show and run. It wasn't my job to come on and spill my crap over the show. My job was to do my job. But I just broke. I completely broke."
The pop star, who moved back to Australia with her son Ethan, has always refused to confirm or deny the rumours about her and Simon, telling the Mirror : "If he says it's the truth then that's what he's saying. But I don't have anything to do with that."
Gemma Owen’s mum makes cryptic 'fakery' dig as Luca cosies up to blonde on NYE
Kylie Minogue and sister Dannii Minogue now live together in Australia after leaving the UK (Getty Images)She's now presenting BBC Three gay dating show I Kissed a Girl after her famous sister Kylie fronted I Kissed a Boy last year. And in a recent interview about the programme, Dannii revealed she is queer.
"There hasn't been a show for the girls in the reality gay dating world," said Dannii of the new project. "The best thing that can happen to this show is that everyone watches it and everyone has questions."
"I identify as queer in a weird way," added the star.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
