Why Cheryl couldn’t resist visiting her superfan’s new baby
The star has previously said she was born to be a mother and is ‘always broody’
EVERYTHING CHANGED WHEN BEAR WAS BORN – MY WORRIES
AND ANXIETIES WENT
She’s made no secret of how much she’d love to add to her family, having confessed several times in the past that she feels she was put on this Earth to have kids, and has been “obsessed” with them for as long as she can remember. So it seemed fitting that Cheryl chose to make an appearance last week – having last been seen in public in January – to visit a fan’s newborn baby.
Much to the amazement of superfan Michelle Illingworth, the singer made a surprise visit, while following social-distancing guidelines, to meet her baby son, Luca, after hearing that her baby shower was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Michelle, who has met Cheryl multiple times over the years, shared a photo of her cradling her baby while Cheryl looked on adoringly from a distance. “I am actually speechless... Luca had a very special visitor today… CHERYL. My heart is so so full. I have no words, I love her so so much,” Michelle captioned the shot. She then paraphrased something Cheryl said to her – “I couldn’t make your wedding and you’ve supported me over the years, the least I could do was come and see you and your beautiful new baby,” and she added the hashtags, “#Cheryl #memories #happiness #idol.” Cheryl also spent time with other members of Michelle’s family, and they all posed for a picture in the garden.
Cheryl, 37 – who welcomed son Bear, now three, with ex Liam Payne in 2017 – appeared in a series of pictures looking on in admiration at the baby, having said almost a decade ago, “I know that is what I was put on Earth to do – be a mother.”
CRITICISM
Cheryl is currently single, but has been vocal about her desire to give Bear a sibling.
She said she’s “always broody” and would love “100 kids” if she could, adding that “it’s the best part of life”. Discussing her options last year, she revealed, “You don’t necessarily need to be in a relationship. I’ve got a friend who has had two children
using donors. Not everything has to be conventional.
“You can spend ages looking for the right man, waiting for the perfect time to get pregnant, then the right man might turn out to be the wrong man. There are definitely other routes I would consider.”
Her motivation to have another child comes after Cheryl – who divorced footballer Ashley Cole in 2010 and Jean-Bernard Fernandez Versini in 2016 – revealed motherhood “changes your life completely, but in the most amazing way,” while friend Simon Cowell predicted motherhood would be “the making of her”.
She also fully embraced the less-glamorous aspects of parenthood. In an interview last year, Cheryl revealed she had been up at 1.30am “cleaning dirty nappies”, previously saying, “It’s challenging, that’s for sure... I didn’t mind, by the way, about being up at night, because I just felt it was so dreamy that the world was asleep and he and I were awake, the two of us just bonding.”
But like any celebrity mum, she’s not immune to criticism about her parenting choices. She’s discussed her battles with “mum guilt” and joked about getting mumshamed after she revealed she lets Bear sleep in her bed, calling it the “best thing in the world.”
She said, “I don’t want to give him insecurities or a feeling like I’m not around... I would spend every breathing moment with him and not do anything else, but I know that’s unhealthy.”
FULFILMENT
The former Girls Aloud singer admitted she was “always angry” with herself before Bear’s birth but motherhood made her put things in perspective.
She didn’t elaborate on the negatives and instead focused on the positive changes, explaining, “Everything changed for me from the moment Bear was born. My old brain came out of my head, and all my worries, anxieties and feelings of emptiness went, and a new brain replaced it. The moment I held him in my arms, I had that feeling [of] fulfilment. It’s stayed with me. And I’ve changed so much. I really have.”
Her relationship with One Direction star Liam ended in
2018, but they are on good terms. Cheryl admitted he’s a lot “softer” than her when it comes to parenting, while he is full of praise for her, saying, “She’s a fantastic mum. I can’t complain – she’s absolutely awesome.”
Cheryl’s friends have spoken about her parenting skills, too.
Sinitta told Closer last year, “Bear was at Eric’s [Simon Cowell’s son] birthday party earlier this year, and Cheryl was letting him indulge, but trying not to let him overindulge.
“In public, you don’t want to be the disciplined mother while everyone else is letting their children stuff their faces with sweets. But she was taking things away and saying, ‘No – we’ll have this, and not that’. She’s good – she’s hands-on.”
Meanwhile, her best friend and former bandmate Kimberley Walsh, 38, revealed that her sons Bobby, five, and Cole, three, usually see Bear about once a week, and all three were recently reunited as lockdown restrictions were eased.
She said, “Just the same as with adults, the kids acted like there had been no time away. It was lovely to see them go straight back to playing as normal.”
For now, Cheryl is still enjoying her “love bubble” with Bear. She said, “I feel like I’ve had two lives – me before Bear and me with Bear,” adding, “He’s just a bundle of cuteness.”