Dannii Minogue has opened up about her relationship with her The X Factor co-star Cheryl Cole, admitting they aren't close friends after all.

The pair has repeatedly brushed off reports of a rivalry and put on a united front by posing for snaps together, but the Australian pop star has revealed she and Cole only chat about superficial "girlie" matters.

And Minogue insists she never asks her colleague about her personal life, including her marriage to Chelsea footballer Ashley Cole.

She tells OK! magazine, "I wouldn't say we talk about personal stuff, just girlie stuff like clothes and boys and men. There's a lot written about her personal life, which I would never ask her about. It's her business.

"If she wanted to speak to me about that then fair enough, but I would never sit her down and bring it up."

Their relationship was said to have improved after Minogue landed a £250,000 pay rise, putting her on equal level with Cole, although the duo never became close.

But the 38 year old has praised the Girls Aloud star for sticking by her last year when she was attacked by the press for her on-air spats with fellow panellist Louis Walsh.

She adds, "When I was going through bad times, she was very good, she would always come and see me to see how I was, but no one ever saw that - that's the way she is and how she handles it."