Cheryl Cole talks weight & her dreams of Prince Harry

Cheryl Cole has revealed that she keeps different sizes of jeans in her wardrobe because her weight goes up and down.

‘I’m like any other woman, my weight fluctuates,’ she said. ‘I have a pair of jeans one size bigger than the other just in case that week I’m a little bit heavier. I work out and try to make healthy choices.’

The 28-year-old singer, whose weight has been the matter of much discussion over the years, had to put on the pounds after battling malaria in 2010 while visiting Tanzania and dropping to a gaunt size 6.

Priorities changed: The singer admitted she had toned down her hectic lifestyle somewhat since her terrifying brush with malaria in 2010

Asked about diets, she told Marie Claire magazine: ‘I try to avoid them like the plague. That can get you into a vicious circle. I did when I was younger.’

She revealed that she was sent into a panic over her weight when she found fame with Girls Aloud in 2002 after winning ITV talent show Popstars: The Rivals.

‘When I first got in the band I remember the first mean story I read  where newspapers called us “Pork Stars” – because the show was called Pop Stars: The Rivals. We were all fat… we were all fat! Not fat, chubby.

‘And Louis Walsh had come out publicly and said, “They’re all fat. They all need to lose weight.” And the record label sent us all to have training.’

When asked if ‘training’ meant ‘fat camp’, she replied: ‘Probably, but we were just thinking they were doing us a favour at the time. We were so deluded.’

Cover girl: The singer talks about her crush on Prince Harry as she poses for the May issue of Marie Claire UK
The singer talks about her crush on Prince Harry as she poses for the May issue of Marie Claire UK

‘It’s now less about work, work, work and more about making time to chill and be with my friends and family,’ she said.

The star also confessed to a crush on Prince Harry. ‘I love Prince Harry,’ she said.

‘Actually, I had a dream last night I married Prince Harry and was a real-life princess! It’s true.’

Cheryl Cole models her new shoe collection for StylistPick exclusively in the May issue of MARIE CLAIRE Magazine, on sale Thursday.