Football star Ashley Cole reportedly bombarded his wife Cheryl with phonecalls last week, begging her not to dump him and asking if she would wait while he went into rehab for sex addiction.

Cheryl announced yesterday that she was separating from Ashley and a pal revealed that she has been dodging Ashley’s calls for days, while she contemplated the future of her marriage in LA.

A friend told The Sun:

“Ashley was calling every ten minutes or so and leaving messages.

“He was very emotional and in distress.

“Ashley suggested they could go for counselling and that he could try therapy.

“He admitted for the first time that he has a problem.

“Cheryl refused to answer any of the calls and they went straight to voicemail.

“She was with Derek at the time talking about her future. Cheryl was talking constantly and thinking everything through.

“One minute she was really upbeat, feeling strong and positive about a new life on her own.

“Then she would come crashing down and feel sorry for Ashley and think how much she loves him.

“But in the end she decided that she has to stay strong and stick to her plan.”