Cheryl Cole wanted family before solo career

London: Singer Cheryl Cole believes she would have been a mother by now if she hadn`t have released a solo album.

The singer recorded her debut "3 Words" 2009 while she was on a break from her band Girls Aloud but insists she only did it because her friend and manager Will.i.am convinced her to work alone. The 28-year-old said she would have been happy to use that time to start a family with then-husband Ashley Cole, who she divorced in 2010 amid claims he cheated on her. "It was actually him (Will) that convinced me to do a solo record. I never would have done a solo record without him. At the time, I would have had a family. At the time I was still married! But it was actually Will saying to us, `You know you`re going to do a solo record, right?`, and I was saying, `I don`t want to, not yet`," contactmusic.com quoted Cole as saying. IANS