Cheryl Cole, the wife of the British soccer star whose fling with Seattle City Council aide Ann Corbitt blew up last weekend in the British press, has filed for divorce from her husband, Ashley Cole. According to the Daily Mail :

The X Factor star, who has been left devastated by the Chelsea football star’s string of betrayals, has called time on her three-and-a-half-year marriage.

The 26-year-old this afternoon released a statement which read: ‘Cheryl Cole is separating from her husband Ashley Cole. Cheryl asks the media to respect her privacy during this difficult time.

Last weekend, Corbitt gave a racy tell-all account of her fling with Cole to the British tabloid News of the World. She was not at City Hall yesterday during the council's big rollout of its legislative priorities, and city hall sources were unsure if her boss, council member Tom Rasmussen, had been informed in advance about the story.

At city hall this afternoon, an uncomfortable-looking Rasmussen declined to comment about Corbitt (who was not in the office today), saying only, "It's a personal matter for Ann."