Cheryl’s shock over body backlash
● Fans have slammed the new mum for showing off her ‘unrealistic’ weight loss following the birth of her son Bear in March, accusing her of making ‘normal women feel inferior’ ● Pals say the singer’s self-esteem has taken a huge blow and she feels she ca
She famously stayed under the radar during her pregnancy and, following the birth of her son Bear, she has spent the first five months of motherhood laying low at Liam Payne’s Surrey mansion.
But Cheryl ensured she was firmly back in the spotlight when she set social media alight by flaunting her post-baby body on Instagram last week – revealing her toned six-pack as she sprawled out on a luxury yacht on holiday with 1D star Liam, 24.
But the snap sparked a backlash from fans, who hit out at the new mum for showing off her “unrealistic” figure.
NEGATIVE REACTION
One user wrote: “Stop making normal working women feel inferior... If we had an army of chefs, masseuses, hairdressers, make-up artists, beauticians, cleaners, nannies, assistants etc, we would look ravishing too.” Another added: “Looks like she hasn’t eaten for 5 months too.”
While some of Cheryl’s followers praised the star, sources say she’s been left stunned by the negative reaction from others. A source says: “Cheryl was shocked by the toxic backlash, especially as she was starting to get back her selfesteem after feeling low about her body. She feels like her confidence has taken a knock and she can’t believe she’s been body-shamed again. She was hoping she’d be praised for it, so to have so much criticism was very hurtful.”
To make matters worse, there was further criticism from fans after Liam – who revealed Cheryl thought she was “massive” two months
after giving birth – spoke about her weight-loss again last week, saying: “She is a superwoman. I can’t believe it. And bless her, she’s done so well and she’s really happy with herself at the moment. She’s been working hard and if you work hard then you get what you want. She just got involved with it and did her bit. She’s great, I’ve got to give it to her on that one.”
He also revealed Cheryl has told him off previously for speaking about their private life, adding: “I get a bit overexcited sometimes. I’ll go home and she’ll say: ‘What did you say that for?”’
Fans were quick to slate Cheryl again online, writing: “She’s a lot of things, but superwoman she ain’t. Must be nice having so many staff around so she can concentrate on her narcissistic qualities.” another added: “So not because she’s a great mum, loving girlfriend, talented – but because she can lose her baby weight.”
SKINNY-SHAMED
A source says: “Cheryl had a dietician devise her post-baby diet before Bear was born so she could prepare herself. She also started working out as soon as she could after giving birth and would take any opportunity she could to get her stomach crunches, sit-ups and planks in.”
Cheryl’s post-baby body reveal lies in sharp contrast to the recent celebrity trend of showing off a “real” mum tum – with stars including actress Jennifer Metcalfe, 34, and WAG Rebekah Vardy, 35, winning praise for revealing their “squishy” midriffs.
In 2015, Cheryl – who’s set to work on a new album for release next year – spoke about how outraged she was after being skinny-shamed following an appearance on The X Factor – calling for it to be made illegal.
Pals say the reason Cheryl waited so long to post a snap was because she wanted to feel body confident. A source adds: “Cheryl feels like she can’t win. Liam’s urged her to ignore the comments, but this has been a big blow for her.”