The former girlfriend of X Factor winner Matt Cardle accused him yesterday of breaking her heart by dumping her as soon as he began to find success.
Lauren Cutmore said she had supported him by working 70 hours a week as a barmaid and even sent the programme makers a video of his performance which started his route to victory.
But after ten days in the show’s ‘boot camp’, he phoned her to say: ‘I’m so busy, I can’t do this.’
‘I was absolutely gutted,’ she said. ‘I felt like I had put so much into this relationship when he was struggling. It seemed like he had got a better life and thought, “I don’t need you any more”.’
Miss Cutmore, 24, now a trainee accountant, said the couple first kissed when she was 15 and Cardle was an 18-year-old ‘scruffy skater boy with dreadlocks’ in their home town of Halstead, Essex.
She said: ‘He was so sweet and lovely, we hit it off straight away. But when he found out I was 15 he didn’t want to go out with me.’
In January 2009, when she was engaged to businessman Dan Jones, Cardle began working in the same pub.
‘After an afternoon shift we sat down and he basically told me he loved me.
'I realised I felt something too, and if there were doubts in my mind I couldn’t stay with Dan.’
After a few months Cardle moved into her father’s house rent-free as he played local gigs with two bands and she worked in the pub.
Miss Cutmore and her friends sent a video of him performing in a pub to the show’s website, and producers called back to invite him to a live audition in March 2009.
‘We went to London together and it was a great day. You could tell they thought he would go far.’
After sailing through the judges’ audition, Cardle was through to the boot camp stage and left for London where he suddenly cut off contact with his girlfriend of 14 months.
Gutted: Now ex-girlfriend Lauren Cutmore supported Matt Cardle on his first audition on August 28. He phoned her from 'boot camp' to say it was over
In July, Cardle returned and they got briefly back together, but he left four days later to rejoin the show, sending her a text message saying: ‘I’m sorry, I can’t do this.’ She said:
‘That’s when I realised he was going to keep picking me up and putting me down again. He was completely using me. I rang him and he wouldn’t answer the phone.
‘I’ve seen him once since then, and I regret ever starting a relationship with him.’
Despite the hurt Cardle has inflicted, Miss Cutmore said she still cheered him on to win the programme on Sunday night. She added: ‘It was amazing, and really emotional. I had a little cry.’
Despite his vow of celibacy, the X Factor winner says he really enjoyed his duet with Rihanna (right). 'I thought we were about to snog,' he admitted
Last night, a spokesman for 27-year-old Cardle declined to comment on Miss Cutmore’s claims.
But earlier the new star vowed to refrain from relationships to concentrate on his music.
Cardle was linked with show stylist Grace Woodward during his time on the X Factor. Make-up artist Lauren Clements also claimed she had enjoyed a brief fling with the singer in his dressing room
Cardle told the Daily Mail: ‘I honestly haven’t touched anyone since I’ve been in this competition. I’m literally focused on the music and the songs. I’m too busy.’
Asked about his relationship with Miss Woodward, 34, Cardle insisted that they had a close friendship, saying: ‘I may have given her the odd hug of support in front of people but then the next thing we’re supposed to be sleeping together. The same goes about that make-up girl.’
Despite his vow of celibacy, Cardle admitted he fancied pop star Rihanna following their duet on Saturday night.
He sighed: ‘It was incredible. I thought we were about to snog!’
Source:Dailymail