Cheryl Cole has revealed that she has "always been" a feminist in a new interview with The Times Magazine.

The X Factor judge, referring to her days as part of Girls Aloud, said she that "always loved other women. Can you imagine being with four women for ten years, if you didn't like other women? You'd be in trouble."

Cheryl can't imagine having been a part of Girls Aloud for ten years and not liking other women

Cheryl also disclosed that she isn't prioritising having children. "It's not in my plans." She spoke about how "you assume it's a natural part of your life" but that she "started questioning" this, reflecting on a friend who doesn't want children and realised that "maybe it's not for me."

Having recently shocked the celebrity world with her whirlwind marriage to Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini, Cheryl also talked about the dilemmas of changing your name in marriage. It's recently been announced that she will "just be Cheryl", with no surname "for her career" - almost Beyonce-like.

But speaking about keeping her former husband Ashley Cole's name after their split, she said "I mean, you have to send your passport off for weeks. I don't have weeks to send my passport off."

"It doesn't feel like his name. [...] And I've built a lot of my life around it. The s*** I have to go through [changing my name] for his mistakes."

She also stressed that she "wasn't a victim" in her divorce from Cole. "My marriage wasn't bad. It was just weakness on his behalf."

Although the split made her into "a different person for a while", she says "I refuse to let somebody else's s***ty behaviour change me fundamentally... I'm not going to become bitter and twisted. I'm going to remain the person I am, with the values and beliefs I had and let you deal with [it]."

After two years away from the public spotlight, Cheryl has returned to a role on The X Factor, and releasing solo singles but she feels that she's grown: "I'm a woman now." And her mature comments certainly reflect that.

Words: Victoria Gray, Images: Rex Features/Times Magazine