Mrs Cole, who separated from her philandering husband earlier this week, has told friends she does not want to be involved in high-profile and bitter divorce proceedings over the couple’s £22 million fortune.

If their three-and-a-half year marriage ends, the X Factor judge wants a divorce to go through ‘quietly and discreetly.’

She does not want to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Heather Mills, who battled for a share of Sir Paul McCartney’s fortune when they split up.

Mr Cole – who earns £4.26 million a year from his contract with Chelsea alone – is the wealthier of the pair, worth £14 million.

Nevertheless, Mrs Cole is prepared to walk away from their marriage with nothing bar her own earnings – and the beloved Chihuahuas Coco and Buster.

The dogs, along with her mother Joan Callaghan, were named as the only ‘people’ she could trust in the world in an interview last year.

As a result, friends insist if their separation leads to divorce, it will occur quickly and painlessly. However, so far, Mrs Cole has still not appointed a lawyer to represent her.

Instead, she continues to come to terms with the breakdown of her relationship with the England defender.

One close friend said: ‘Cheryl doesn’t want any of Ashley’s money. She doesn’t want anything from him.

‘She’s really not interested. If they do divorce, she would just like it to go through quietly and discreetly. She will not have a messy divorce.’

However, she is currently still concentrating on her own emotions.

She said: ‘At the moment, she’s just having time on her own working through her emotions. It’s an incredibly confusing time for her. Undoubtedly, some of Cheryl still loves Ashley but he has betrayed her.’

Meanwhile, the Daily Mail has learnt that Mrs Cole has cancelled ‘virtually all’ of her TV and radio appearances for the release of her new single.

The heart-broken pop star has pulled the plug on a series of interviews she was due to give to support new single Parachute, which is released on March 15.

She was also due to appear and perform on Jonathan Ross’ chat show on the Thursday before the release.

Mrs Cole, 26, will not be interviewed on the BBC1 show. She is also ‘very unlikely’ to even perform, according to friends.

A close friend revealed: ‘Cheryl has pulled the plug on virtually all her TV and radio appearances.

‘And she will not be being interviewed on Ross’s show. The only thing she may do is perform on the programme – but even that is very unlikely.’

Mrs Cole separated from cheating husband Ashley on Tuesday.

She decided to split with the star after he was accused of having a number of affairs and indulging in sex texts with some women.

Mrs Cole forgave him for a previous affair – with hairdresser Aimee Walton in December 2007.

On that occasion, she did choose to go on Ross’ chat show to break her silence.

She had been seen without her wedding ring but wore it for the TV interview and said: ‘I was tempted to put it back on his head.’

Source: DailyMail.co.uk