Following her famous firing from the US X Factor after Fox declared that she didn't really have any star power in the States, Cole returned to the UK with her tail between her legs and it seemed like her friendship with Simon Cowell was well and truly over. However, Cowell eventually did come back and apologise to Cole for the emotional turmoil that he put her through. Now, she has finally spoken out about the incident and how it affected her. "I can talk about this because I'm okay about it now," she told Elle UK. "But I went through hell and it literally drove me mad. I became so desensitised, you could say terrible things to me and I wouldn't even think about it. Cole sent this message after the incident: "F**k you, F**k Fox, F**k the orange and purple outfit. F**k the big hair. F**k the UK X Factor. F**k you all. I hate you." She opened up about how she felt about the way Simon dealt with the incident: "I'd read awful stuff about myself and not blink. I shut down because I didn't know what else to do. Now, I can say that Simon was right to get rid of me. I wasn't well in the head when that was going on, so it wasn't going to work. But he wasn't right not to tell me to my face." However, she was eager to declare that she has moved on: "It actually taught me everything I'm going to need for the rest of my life. I love feeling that I'm strong because I have good women at my side. And I don't give a f**k what people think any more." Hat tip to Digital Spy.