HE was the bad boy of football whose cheating and wild partying destroyed his high-profile marriage to Cheryl Tweedy.
But fast forward nearly two decades and Ashley Cole appears to be a changed man, tamed by Italian model Sharon Canu, 30, who he married at the weekend.
Bride and groom, Sharon Canu and Ashley Cole say ‘I do’ as they tie the knotInstagram
The happy couple celebrate their wedding near the bride’s native Rome
In contrast to his first marriage, the ex-Chelsea and England full-back, 42, has kept this near decade-long romance out the spotlight, rarely posting snaps of his new love or their two children, Jaxon, seven, and Grace, five.
But last night the loved-up couple released another picture from their fairytale wedding showing them under a huge floral arch as smoke cannons created a rainbow overhead.
The romantic nuptials, near the bride’s native Rome, were intimate, with just a few of their close family and friends — including Ashley’s former England team-mates John Terry and Frank Lampard — as guests.
They exchanged vows at the Hotel La Vecchia Posta in Ladispoli, on a clifftop overlooking the Med, with the children as bridesmaid and page boy. The newlyweds then took the floor for their first dance to The Greatest Showman’s Never Enough.
Spectacular fireworks lit up the al fresco reception before the guests partied late into the night.
Their big day comes 16 months after Ashley popped the question.
When he met Sharon in Italy in 2014 he was at his lowest ebb, with his divorce from Girls Aloud singer Cheryl and brushes with the law in his wake, as well as the accidental shooting of a work experience student with an air gun at Chelsea’s Surrey training ground.
But his romance with Sharon and the birth of their two children has turned him into a devoted family man.
‘Amazing on and off pitch’
In a rare 2019 interview with The Telegraph, he said he had “grown up”, adding: “I was a young, angry kid at the time and now I’ve grown up and understand the things I did is life, it happens. I’ve learnt from it, it’s made me a better person. It’s made me a great dad.
“These are the things I focus on now, my kids and my girlfriend. It’s a different me, I’m more of a family man now. You won’t see me in nightclubs any more, you’ll see me at a park pushing my kids.”
His latest wedding was much more low-key than the ceremony with Cheryl, at Wrotham Park, Herts, in 2006.
With her band Girls Aloud riding high and Ashley at the height of his footballing prowess, it was the showbusiness wedding of the decade and cost a reported £500,000.
The bridesmaids were Cheryl’s bandmates Nadine Coyle, Nicola Roberts, Kimberley Walsh and Sarah Harding.
And the guest list was said to include Sugababes stars Amelle Berrabah, Keisha Buchanan and Heidi Range, Blue’s Simon Webbe and singer Jamelia, plus footballers Joe Cole, John Terry, Jermaine Jenas, Jermain Defoe and Sol Campbell.
Cheryl, then 23, celebrated the union with a Mrs C tattoo on her neck.
But at 25, Ashley was clearly not ready to settle down and a string of cheating allegations plagued the marriage. In 2008, hairdresser Aimee Walton told of an alleged hook-up with Ashley, claiming he was so drunk he threw up on her carpet twice during sex.
On the moment she learned about his cheating, Cheryl wrote in her explosive memoir: ‘“I hope you enjoyed it!’, I screamed. ‘I hope she was worth it! It’s the end of your marriage. You don’t understand what you’ve done. It’s f***ed!’.
“After hours of me ranting, screaming and crying uncontrollably, I was exhausted.”
Cheryl eventually took him back, but called it quits after 2010 claims that he cheated on her with four more women and that he allegedly paid one £10,000 to keep quiet. As well as cheating accusations, Ashley’s wild partying and reckless antics led to two minor brushes with the law.
In March 2009 he was hit with an £80 fine after an altercation outside a nightclub, where he refused to stop swearing in front of a cop.
The following January he was slapped with a four-month driving ban and a £1,000 penalty for speeding at 104mph in a 50mph zone.
Cheryl filed for divorce in May 2010 and the split was finalised that September. But the pair remain close, and Ashley was among the first to text her when she split from second husband Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini in 2016.
She has also messaged congratulations on the birth of both his kids, as well as wishing him well before last weekend’s wedding. The press-shy footballer also hit the headlines in February 2011 when he accidentally shot a student, 21, at Chelsea.
Ashley was “larking about” with a .22 air rifle when he fired the gun at Tom Cowan, who was hit in the side and received a minor injury.
He was fined two weeks’ wages — around £220,000 — but dodged a police rap as no charges were filed.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti defended the player, insisting: “There was never any chance of Ashley being sacked. He has always behaved very well. He made a mistake. It was an accident.”
Following his split from Cheryl, Ashley dated reality star Anna Kelle and Towie’s Pascal Craymer.
But his 2014 transfer to Italian club AS Roma led him to Sharon. The couple kept their blossoming relationship under wraps in the early years, posting no pictures of each other on social media. But Sharon revealed a huge bunch of red roses on her page on Valentine’s day 2016, with the caption, “Miss you”.
The couple became more public after their first child, Jaxon, arrived in February that year, with Sharon posting snaps of all three of them.
On his son’s first birthday, Ashley told how fatherhood had changed him after an underprivileged background, and fame and fortune, saw him forget what was important.
“I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have most things I wanted in life, cars, houses, watches, clothes,” he wrote. “Coming from East London with not a lot growing up and a mum looking after two boys alone, life wasn’t always easy. So of course it’s easy to lose your way in life sometimes, to forget about the things that are most important. But this morning I woke up to something that exceeds anything I’ve ever had before: A smile that never goes away.
“Every day I wake up to the most beautiful thing I could ever dream of, a son that makes my heart melt, a son that never stops smiling, a son that can make me laugh no matter what kind of mood I’m in.
“A son that I’m proud of, a son I watch fall asleep because I never want to leave him, a son that reminded me what’s important in life.”
The couple’s daughter Grace was born in February 2018 and Sharon’s social media is now full of photos of her family and tributes to her “handsome man” and “better half”.
Hugely supportive, the model’s messages reveal her admiration for her man. In 2019, after Ashley announced his retirement at 39, she wrote: “I love listening whilst you talk about your memories, when you started, when you understood it would have been your job and when you realised you could have made it. You did, you realised your dream, the dream of a kid. It’s been hard and sacrificing but it’s been worth it. You are an amazing man, on the pitch and off. A wonderful father and my biggest love. You make me proud every day.”
On Ashley’s 40th birthday in December 2020, Sharon wrote: “I love you so much! Happy 40th birthday to the man of my dreams, the love of my life, the kindest heart I’ve ever met. You are the sweetest feeling I know.”
Ashley was once the bad boy of football whose cheating and wild partying destroyed his high-profile marriage to Cheryl TweedyRex Features
PA:Press AssociationEx-Chelsea and England full-back, Ashley, has kept this near decade-long romance out the spotlight[/caption]
Sharon followed Ashley from Rome to Derby for his final playing stint before he went on to coach the team. After joining Frank Lampard at Chelsea, Ashley and Sharon moved to a Surrey mansion where, in 2020, they suffered a horrifying ordeal at the hands of armed raiders who tied Ashley up, threatening to cut off his fingers with pliers.
Sharon and the children were at home at the time and Ashley had been holding his baby girl just before the attack. The thugs made off with watches, phones, cash, a Gucci bag and a BMW smart key.
Ashley finally popped the question to Sharon in March 2022, getting down on one knee after filling the room with flowers. She revealed she was celebrating the “easiest yes she’d ever said”. A source said at the time: “Ashley loves Sharon to bits. He’s really happy. He loves his kids. For him, it was the right time. His life is his kids and family now.”
In June, Sharon posted snaps of her Ibiza hen do with ex-Towie star Sam Faiers, who has become a close pal, plus Ashley’s sister-in-law Lisa and six other mates.
She wrote: “We laughed a lot, sang a lot, danced a lot, drunk a lot, ate a lot. Barely slept, barely looked nice, barely took pictures. Wouldn’t change one second of it.”
Ahead of the wedding, a source told The Sun: “Ashley and Sharon are madly in love and have spent months planning their special day.
“Loads of her family live there and it’s very romantic. As a couple they have been very private, so they don’t feel the need for a flashy, public wedding.”
And the quiet, classy nuptials send the ultimate message that the former hellraiser has settled down.
Ashley and Sharon with their two children on a family break Read More