Cheryl Fernandez-Versini

Cheryl Fernandez-Versini

Cheryl Fernandez-Versini has vowed to get revenge on Simon Cowell.

The 'Crazy Stupid Love' hitmaker says she is waiting for the right time to get her own back on the music mogul after he unceremoniously fired her from the US version of the 'The X Factor' in 2011.

She told The Sun newspaper: "I play the long game. I'm waiting. Don't worry about me, I'll get my own back."

Although the pair have since put their feud behind them to return as judges to the UK version of the singing competition this year - Simon, 54, still defends his decision to sack the stunning brunette as he wasn't happy with her image when she turned up to filming in the states.

He recently said: "I asked her manager, 'What's she wearing, what's happened to her hair?

"We then did the first day of auditions and she was nervous, shy, not in her comfort zone. She'd put on a bit of weight but not loads. That wasn't the issue.

"The only way I can describe it is that it wasn't Cheryl sitting in that seat. She'd lost her confidence."

However, the 31-year-old singer has since admitted she understands his decision.

She explained: "He sacked me. In hindsight he was right because I wasn't myself. He wasn't himself either.

"He was under a lot of strain because it was a new venture. But he handled it wrongly -- he got somebody else to sack me. I didn't want to talk to him at the time. I didn't want to talk to anybody. The sacking came on top of everything else. It was just the cherry on the cake."

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