Dannii Minogue, who was once a glamorous judge on X Factor during the early 2000s, had her life 'break' post-show due to a supposed 'affair' with fellow judge Simon Cowell which made her flee back to Australia. Amidst all the glamour, she faced 'anxiety, depression, and stress'.
At 52, Dannii's entrance into the judging panel in 2007 brought her together with Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne. However, rumblings of an alleged fling with Cowell began soon thereafter, leading to questions regarding her ability to effectively fulfil her role, with many high-profile names such as Graham Norton to Noel Gallagher joining the discussion.
Situations where Dannii found herself "up close and personal with Simon" on a near-daily basis only added to the rumours, especially when they were observed holding hands in a car post-Children In Need, according to the Mirror.
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In response, Dannii refuted claims of any flirtatious behaviour, stating: "That man could flirt with a book, a wall, anything. I don't fancy him and I don't have a type I go for but I like a man who makes me laugh, who's intelligent and speaks his mind."
However, Simon Cowell himself confessed his feelings towards Minogue in the unauthorised biography, Sweet Revenge: The Intimate Life of Simon Cowell. He revealed: "I had a crush on her. It was genuine love. I was like a schoolboy. She was foxy. She was a real man's girl. Very feminine.", reports the Daily Record.
Sharon Osbourne pulled no punches when it came to expressing her feelings about Dannii Minogue, stating in her autobiography: "She had an uppity attitude as she was f***ing the boss." After leaving the ITV show a year following Minogue's arrival on the judging panel, Osbourne sat down with Piers Morgan on Life Stories. She declared: "I didn't hate her because hatred is very close to love and takes a lot of emotion and I don't have that time for her. She was like an insect, a mosquito that wouldn't go away."
Dannii Minogue criticised Osbourne in her own autobiography, claiming she was akin to a 'school bully'. She wrote: "I had to put up with insults flying at me both on and off screen. Over the course of the next year, Sharon announced to anyone who would listen that I was impossible to work with (but never explained why), that I was only on The X Factor because of my looks, not any visible talent or contribution to the entertainment industry and Simon employed me only because he wanted to sleep with me."
When Cheryl Tweedy replaced Osbourne, she found herself competing with Minogue during The X Factor fashion showdowns each week. However, by 2011, when Minogue left the show, she felt 'broken'. "There were a lot of people conspiring to make that happen and it brought a lot of people enjoyment to see me so under the pump," she courageously revealed to Australia's Herald Sun. "I get that it is a TV show... but you have to be fair and it just got to the point where I was so unhappy."
In a new interview, the pop icon who relocated back to Australia with her son Ethan following mental health challenges, has consistently remained elusive over confirming or denying rumours about her and Simon. Chatting to Mirror, she coolly asserted: "If he says it's the truth then that's what he's saying. But I don't have anything to do with that."
Many years on from when the chatter first began, the well-known personality now takes a turn at hosting BBC Three's gay dating show I Kissed a Girl, after previously hosting its male counterpart, I Kissed a Boy, last year. Speaking about the new series in a recent chat, she publicly identified as queer. "There hasn't been a show for the girls in the reality gay dating world," Dannii said, referring to her latest plunge into reality TV. "The best thing that can happen to this show is that everyone watches it and everyone has questions. I identify as queer in a weird way." You can keep up to date with the latest TV and showbiz news by signing up to the newsletter here.
