Cheryl Cole’s hope of getting a quickie divorce from Ashley has failed after she was forced to put proceedings on hold while she battled malaria.

The Fight For This Love singer was out of action for six weeks while she fought the disease; it could now take months to finalise her divorce from the Chelsea footballer. Cheryl cited Ashley’s ‘unreasonable behaviour’ when she filed divorce papers in London’s High Court on 26 May.

According to The Mirror, the 27-year-old is holding off on going public with rumoured boyfriend Derek Hough until the divorce has come through.

"Cheryl is remaining upbeat and hopeful [her lawyers] can get a result for her soon," a friend is quoted as saying. "She’s still hopeful it can be resolved quickly. Every time they go out they can’t hold hands or kiss and cuddle openly like normal couples.

"She and Ashley have had contact recently and things are cordial between them. In her eyes it would be disrespectful to behave like that so soon," the source explained. "When the divorce is through – or at least when things have progressed more – fine. But in the meantime she’s dead against it. In spite of what’s gone on between them, she believes she has to do things by the book.

"She feels sorry for Derek that the impending divorce is overshadowing their relationship and the way they can behave." Cheryl and the American dancer have been in Los Angeles for over a week as she resumes work on her second solo album.