The ex-Pussycat Doll, 38, is back on the panel of The X Factor this year.
She told the Sunday Mirror that she had made sacrifices in her personal life.
"Look at me? I'm not married and I ain't got no kids yet. Of course work has come at a sacrifice. I've missed out on life," she said.
But Nicole said that she had not expected to have children by now.
"I see a vision of what I want as an artist.
"Now I'm going to the top of that mountain. When I get there, then I'll have time for a family, and kids," she said.