Cheryl Cole says she only took her wedding ring off to "make a fashion statement".
The Girls Aloud star – who has been dogged by rumours her relationship with soccer star Ashley Cole is in trouble since it was revealed he had cheated on her in January 2008 – insists she never appears in public with a bare ring finger to make any sort of statement about the state of her relationship.
She said: "Do people really think I'm going to have an argument and take my ring off? It was a fashion statement more than a marriage statement.
"As my wedding ring is yellow it doesn't go with everything."
Despite insisting their union is fine, the 'Fight For This Love' singer admits the seemingly never-ending avalanche of rumours about their marriage problems has pushed both her and Ashley to breaking point and even caused her friends and family to doubt their happiness.
She explained to Britain's Glamour magazine: "He broke down about it all. He called me from the garage and said, 'I feel sick. I'm on the cover of every magazine because apparently I've made you cry.'
"My family love Ashley but even people really close to me are starting to believe that there's a rift between us."