Why does Liam keep humiliating Cheryl with other women?

After Liam Payne describes Brazilian singer pal Anitta as ‘hot’, fans question why he keeps being disrespectful to Cheryl

He’s been in a relationship with Cheryl for two years and shares one-yearold son Bear with her – but that didn’t deter Liam Payne from calling Brazilian singer Anitta “hot” and praising her “sexy accent”. Former One Direction star Liam, 24, shared a series of Instagram posts larking around with 25-year-old Anitta last week, and also gave an interview with a Mexican TV show, saying, “I was hanging out with Anitta, she’s really cool as well. She’s amazing. She’s in London at the moment, I think, which is funny because I’m going to Brazil, so we’re like swapping. We’re going to swap lives, but I’m not anywhere near as hot as she is, so…”

COMPLIMENTS

He went on to joke that he wanted to know the Brazilian word for “beautiful” so he could use it in the future.

Fans were quick to react, accusing him of being “disrespectful” to Cheryl, 34 – who last week was said to be

in talks to join the West End production of Chicago as Roxie Hart – with comments online including, “Oh no, Liam, why?”, “Rude” and “He makes me sick”.

Liam’s behaviour was also branded “humiliating” by the Loose Women panel, with Ruth Langsford saying, “If I was Cheryl at home looking after the baby, then I wouldn’t be best pleased… I think it’s a little bit disrespectful. There’s a difference between saying someone is talented... I think it’s humiliating for Cheryl.”

Now insiders reveal that, despite being a “nice guy”, Liam can’t seem to stop coming across in the wrong way. A source says, “Liam loves to shower everyone he meets with compliments. He’s such a likeable and nice guy and he praises people all the time – like he did with Anitta. It’s all innocent, to the point that he doesn’t ever think about the repercussions of what he says.”

FLIRTY BEHAVIOUR

The source says, “Cheryl knows deep down that there was no malice involved, but it’s humiliating to have everyone discuss his comments on TV and social media, and no one would be surprised if she despairs of how he seems to stir up controversy every time he gives an interview. She knows that giving interviews like this is part of his career, but friends worry she’ll find his comments a bit frustrating and upsetting.”

Relationship expert Lucy Beresford, author of Happy Relationships, tells Closer, “Cheryl may well have found Liam’s comments annoying in the past, but he continues to make them. I can imagine the reason for this might be that Liam’s career is set around being attractive to his fans. Sex sells, and so appearing sexy and available is great for his fan base. So while it may not sit well with Cheryl, he is likely to continue acting flirty – what with his selfies, his comments about his fellow stars and his raunchy dancing on stage with Rita Ora – so that his fans are kept happy and he is more relevant and his career can progress.

HARMLESS BANTER

“Another reason for him to continue acting in this way is likely to be because he feels they have a playful side to their relationship and he may well see it as harmless banter. But it’s only natural to be upset when your partner makes flirty comments about someone else, and to then have it thrown into the spotlight with people discussing it is doubly humiliating. You need to respect each other.”

It’s not the first time Liam’s friendships with other women have raised eyebrows. Cheryl was reportedly unhappy with Liam and Rita’s raunchy performance of their duet For You on the Jimmy Fallon Show in February – later that month, however, their performance at the BRIT Awards was branded “awkward” by fans as the pair barely interacted. A month later, Liam was wrongly linked to his backing dancer Chloe Ferns, after they were seen chatting over cocktails in a hotel bar – prompting Cheryl to lash out on Twitter, rubbishing the story.

In September, Liam admired that Cheryl tells him off for revealing too much about their private life, saying, “I do get a bit overexcited sometimes. I’ll go home and she’ll say, ‘What did you say that for?’” He also reportedly upset her during a radio interview over the phone, and told presenter Nick Grimshaw that Cheryl was on the toilet, before asking her live on air, “Was it a number one or a number two?”

Despite consistently causing a stir, Liam has continued to speak openly. At the start of the year, he complained that Cheryl doesn’t compliment him, saying, “She doesn’t even say anything. She gets it. But also, I’d like her to say, ‘Oh, you look nice in that.’”

More recently, he said she’d struggled in pregnancy, and last week revealed that he sat at the kids’ table for Bear’s first birthday party. The source adds, “Cheryl knows Liam has a younger fan base, who want to see him as a sex symbol and hear all about his life. But she worries about the scrutiny and the criticism he opens himself up to when he does speak out.”

❛SEX SELLS – AND APPEARING SEXY AND AVAILABLE IS GREAT FOR HIS FAN BASE❜