Nicole Scherzinger opens up about falling head-over-heels for a tennis star and gunning for X Factor victory

NICOLE Scherzinger appears to be on the verge of tears.

Her big brown eyes momentarily glaze over and she glances down at the floor.

The subject of her ex, racing driver Lewis Hamilton, has come up, and suddenly the singer seems zapped of her trademark “schamazingness”. A full 18 months on from their break-up, it’s clearly still an awkward topic.

But ever the pro, Nicole, 38, quickly composes herself and answers the question.

“Um…” Nicole pauses and chooses her words carefully.

“I think that we… wish each other well. In all honesty, it’s in my past and I’m all about keeping the past in the past.”

It’s not difficult to understand why Nicole wants to look to the future where Lewis, 31, is concerned.

The couple – who met at the European Music Awards in Munich in 2007 – clocked up at least three splits during their seven-year relationship, before finally putting an end to their romance after a series of rows at the start of 2015.

It was said to be Nicole who did the dumping after Lewis refused to commit to marrying her, which might explain why she still seems to harbour less-than-positive feelings about her former beau.

While Nicole was filming The X Factor last month, she took a swipe at the F1 driver.

One contestant performed a tear-jerking rendition of Nicole’s song Run, in which the lyrics warn a woman not to give her love “too fast” to a man who will leave her “with a broken heart”.

When Simon Cowell suggested that they should dedicate the performance to Lewis, Nicole replied: “Yes. Let’s dedicate those lyrics and that song to Lewis as well, shall we?”

Ouch.

Nicole isn’t quite as bold today and appears to backtrack on her comments, laying the blame for the Lewis-bashing at Simon’s feet.

“Oh that was just Simon, you know, having some fun as he does,” she says.

“[He] wound me up. One of the boys sang that song, and Simon was like: ‘I can’t help but think of Lewis.’ He was just being silly.”

Ahem, as silly as Lewis letting Nicole walk out of his life, perhaps?

Since their split, Nicole has definitely been making strides at moving forward again after plunging head-first into a new relationship with 25-year-old Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov, who once ranked No.8 in the world.

The pair began dating last July, shortly after Grigor ended his two-year relationship with fellow tennis star Maria Sharapova, 29.

With his brooding good looks, designer stubble, athletic build and their 13-year age gap, it’s clear Nicole has a type.

So is it love?

“Yeah, I hope so. I’m a very loving person,” says Nicole.

“We’ve been together for quite some time now, so I’m just living in the moment and I’m happy.”

It’s quite a statement for Miss Scherzinger, who has been tight-lipped so far about her new romance and kept the relationship massively on the down-low.

Red carpets have been strictly off limits – their most public appearances together have so far involved Nicole getting papped supporting Grigor at his tennis tournaments, including the Brisbane International in Australia at the start of this year.

Naturally, Nicole is hoping Grigor will repay the favour over the next four months while she sets up camp in the UK for The X Factor.

“He’s obviously busy as he’s got his own career, but hopefully he’ll come and visit me. We’re both travelling a lot, but it’s nice when we are able to make time [for each other]. You appreciate it.”

For now, though, the pair have to get to grips with a transatlantic relationship as they are pulled around the world by their respective work commitments. But Nicole is determined to look at the positives.

“It’s good when you’re both career-driven to have your own space to focus on your career and yourself.

“I think good advice for anybody is just to live – really live – in the moment. Especially with what’s currently going on in the world. Really, it’s so important to truly seize the moment. Carpe diem!”

This new, strong approach seems to be informing all areas of her life. But it wasn’t always like this.

Back in 2013, during a temporary split from Lewis, Nicole revealed that she felt that people can lose themselves to relationships.

So what’s changed this time around?

“As much as we like to blame everything on other people, it’s up to us to be grown women. Ultimately, you have to find happiness within yourself first. Don’t depend on others to make you happy,” she says.

“We always try to do that as women, as opposed to putting that focus on ourselves. Then you find that the other person is taking care of themselves and you get resentful. You lose your identity, and you have to take responsibility for that. Wait, what was the question again?”

This is Scherzy at her butterfly-mind best.

Over the course of the interview, she gets distracted by any number of things, from picking the perfect nail colour for the shoot to accidentally dropping her phone on the floor mid-answer.

But she’s determined to get her response to this one just right, going on to ask for the question to be repeated a further three times.

Personal growth seems to be her watchword of the last year.

“I’m growing up. Relationships really give you an opportunity to mirror yourself, whether that’s your strengths or weaknesses.

“It’s so important as women that we say: ‘I don’t want to follow the same old patterns.’ Oh, s**t, there was something else great I was going to say and I’ve forgotten! My brain is always so random.”

Silence ensues and Nicole racks her brain for several minutes.

Finally, that all-important point descends on her and she grabs the air in delight.

“I’ve remembered what I’ve learnt in recent years… it’s boundaries! As a woman, I want to warn others. We stick with old ways and then we wonder: ‘Why aren’t things different for me when I’m allowing the same things to happen?’ The definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over and expecting a different result.

“We have to be able to set love boundaries to keep our worth and our dignity. We too often allow things to happen and then find ourselves
in a very vulnerable or weak place. I’m so happy – I’m proud of myself.”

The future certainly looks bright, and it’s one that Nicole hopes will involve becoming a mum.

“In time, not now, I’ll definitely have a family. God only knows when that time will be. But I do know that when I have my kids, I’m going to be like: ‘Those are my kids,’ and I’m going to be raising them how my mum raised me.

“She is the greatest mum in the entire world. She had me when she was 18 and raised me on her own. She’s the strongest and most selfless person, so hopefully I’ll do her proud. She’s my angel.”

It’s clear family means everything to Nicole.

Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, her parents separated when she was a baby.

A few years later she was adopted by her stepfather Gary Scherzinger when the family, along with Nicole’s younger sister Keala, moved to Louisville, Kentucky.

Despite not being a wealthy family, they all supported Nicole’s bid for stardom, and she attended performing arts schools and entered talent contests, before hitting the big time with girl band The Pussycat Dolls.

She makes a twice-annual trip back to Hawaii to visit her extended family and relishes being an aunt to 30-year-old Keala’s three daughters.

All the signs seem to be pointing in the right direction for the pitter-patter of tiny feet, with Nicole making it clear that she’s found a keeper in Grigor.

“It’s good for girls to be with nice guys. Respect the nice ones – they can win! He’s so damn cute,” she says.

Nicole’s not looking too bad herself, of course.

Despite her hectic schedule, her skin is wrinkle-free and glowing, which she puts down to coating herself in 100% virgin coconut oil.

After battling bulimia during her Pussycat Dolls days, her figure is now a healthy and slender size 8, although Nicole is on something of an exercise sabbatical.

“I’ve not been working out. I filmed the TV movie of Dirty Dancing earlier this year [in ABC’s remake, Nicole plays Johnny’s original dance partner Penny], which was a really demanding dance role, so I got in shape by training hard two to three hours a day. After that, I took some time off and it’s now been three months.

“I think we all see working out as a chore. But when I get back into the routine, my mental state and body craves it. My favourite thing is doing hardcore, really upbeat dance cardio. It’s the craziest workout, but you’re dancing so it keeps you motivated.”

No doubt Nicole will be showing off her (still very) impressive physique in a series of red-carpet-worthy looks when she rejoins The X Factor panel alongside Sharon Osbourne, Louis Walsh and Simon Cowell for the live shows, which will hit TV screens in the autumn.

Her three-year break from the show definitely hasn’t dented her drive to win.

“I’m the most competitive person, and Simon calls me ruthless,” she confesses.

“I like to think that I’m in it to win it. I’m all about putting everything in and making things truly great, otherwise don’t waste your time doing it. If I’ve got to make a freaking lasagne and I’ve never made one before, I’m going to try to make the best lasagne I can!”

However, her new job seems to have come at a price, after respected West End impresario Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber got his claws out and publicly blasted Nicole for dropping out of a Broadway run of Cats in order to return to The X Factor.

The pair had become good pals after Sir Andrew cast her in his West End musical in 2014 to rave reviews.

But in a furious interview in May, he said Nicole had made him look like a “twot” and predicted that she had missed out on a possible Tony Award.

Nicole, who also has a new album in the pipeline, is keen to stress today that it’s water under the bridge.

“I love Andrew so much and respect him – the last thing I would want to do is upset him,” she says.

“It just wasn’t meant to happen. I look forward to working with him again. In fact, I’m putting it out there that I want to do Evita at the London Coliseum!

“Sometimes when we plan things ourselves, they don’t always turn out that way. It’s about fate and the bigger picture. Hang on, there’s a quote I read the other day that reminded me of it. Let me look for it.”

And with that, Nicole scrolls through her phone and proudly displays a meme that reads: “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes – even you.”

She grins and admits she screengrabs inspirational quotes all the time.

If Nicole ever does opt for a career change in the future, there’s definitely one waiting in motivational speeches. This girl has got it sussed.
The X Factor returns to ITV on Saturday.

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