Is Chris Brown causing MORE relationship drama? Nicole Scherzinger checks into a hotel!

When it was announced that Nicole Scherzinger would be taking Kelly Rowland’s spot as judge on the U.K.’s X-Factor (after she didn’t make the cut for the U.S. version), folks assumed she’d be staying with her boyfriend. Formula 1 racer, Lewis Hamilton, just built a swanky mansion close to the studios—nice!  BUT, in a dramatic turn of events, Nicole booked a 3-month stay at a swanky London hotel. (Can you make a rezy for that long?)

If you’re thinking: Maybe the hotel is close to the studios! It’s London baby—everything’s close—her boyfriend of 4 year’s pad is a mere 30 mins away. Where would you stay?

Could any of this have to do with Nicole being photographed maybe making out with Chris in a club, while in her hoodie disguise? Even though Nicole denied that it happened, sources are speculating that Lewis wasn’t so sure…

An inside source reveals, “We were shocked when Nicole told us she intended to check in to an expensive hotel. When the live shows started everyone expected her to move into Lewis’s beautiful, newly-built mansion. It’s only a 35-minute drive from the studios in Wembley. The Formula 1 season ends in a November, so Lewis will be in the country and Nicole would not have been there on her own. It’s a beautiful hotel, but in traffic it would probably be a longer journey to the studios. Surely if everything in the ­relationship was as rosy as they are saying it is, she would just stay with Lewis?”

Nicole and Lewis have been together since 2008, however, they DID briefly split in 2011 before rekindling their romance, so maybe they’re just taking some time again? Let’s hope… We’d hate to see another relationship ruined by Chris Brown!