Simon Cowell “Feels Guilty As Hell” After Sacking Cheryl Cole

A source close to Simon Cowell tells The Sun that ‘The X Factor’ judge has been given the silent treatment from Cheryl Cole after he bowed to pressure to fire the Girls Aloud star in favor of Nicole Scherzinger. Simon was reminded about the personnel move when taping the ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ semi-finals, getting booed by the audience while co-hist Dec Donnelly joked, “Can you understand my accent?”

“Simon feels guilty as hell about what has happened to Cheryl. He has admitted it was a cock-up but she won’t hear him out,” the insider said. “They used to be so close. She’d text him round the clock for advice. Now she can’t bring herself to speak to him. He feels like he’s lost a lover.”