The baby that means I can at last find happiness
JEAN-BERNARD LIAM
THE coy but clearly delighted smile said it all as Cheryl proudly presented her baby bump to the world this week.
After months of keeping mum, the singer, 33, confirmed her pregnancy – a long-awaited happy ending to her rollercoaster love life.
Despite success as a pop star and X Factor judge, Cheryl’s ultimate goal has always been starting a family.
And it seems One Direction star Liam Payne, 23, who she first helped make famous when he was a 14-yearold with a dream on a talent show, has become her knight in shining armour.
Even in the heady days of Girls Aloud, Cheryl was resolute about her family focus. She said: “That’s going to be the highlight of my life, having children and settling down.”
Now, she’s about to achieve it. The shots of her at eight months pregnant in a L’Oreal and Prince’s Trust charity campaign have been released with a strong message to help young people find their own self-worth.
Cheryl said in a campaign video: “There was a time when I struggled with self-doubt. I was teenager when I first experienced those feelings.
“Doubting your decisions. I wasn’t doing very well at school at all.
“There are moments in life where you might view things as failure, but they’re actually just learning curves so you can’t be afraid to fail. I’m definitely at a place where I don’t feel like I fail at things, I feel like I’ve learned.”
Growing up as one of five, family has always been at the heart of Cheryl’s life. She is close to her mum Joan and her brother Garry, who she employs to travel with her when she’s touring.
But after two failed marriages, the future had looked uncertain for the singer – which is why her romance with Liam came as such a surprise.
The 1D star, who she began dating a year ago, came along at the right time.
He’d had his own struggles with fame, admitting: “I started drinking a lot and began to get a bit tubbier. I was getting fat jibes, which hurt me.”
But Liam’s maturity and reassurance has been a rock for Cheryl throughout the pregnancy, and she’s been impressed by his forward-thinking.
An insider said: “Liam is an old soul, with maturity beyond his years, having always been the ‘band dad’ when he was in One Direction.
“He grew up fast being away from home, so he’s more than ready and has been taking advice from Louis Tomlinson, who also has a baby.”
Insiders say Liam has painted the nursery for the baby’s arrival and has been pampering Cheryl, making sure she doesn’t have to lift a finger in their north London home.
One insider said Cheryl is hoping for a natural birth at Portland Hospital in Marylebone, where Victoria Beckham had two children – and has been saying she’s “not too posh to push”.
They add that Cheryl plans to take six months off when the baby is born, as she wants to be a hands-on mum.
And she does not want to rely on a team of nannies but to involve Joan and Liam’s mum Karen, who is based in Wolverhampton.
Talking about juggling work and children in the past, Cheryl said: “I’ll definitely take them to work with me.”
It’s been an emotional journey to motherhood for her. Cheryl first fell hard for footballer Ashley Cole, who welcomed his own baby boy last year with Italian girlfriend Sharon Canu.
Cheryl and Ashley wed in 2006. The singer was open about wanting to start a family “sooner rather than later”, insisting: “I have friends who put it off and I don’t want to do that.” And she was resolute that, above money and fame, family would lead to happiness.
Cheryl said: “I can’t wait to have children. Even if all this went tomorrow, and I just had my family and my kids and my husband and my parents, I’m happy. I know that’s what I was put on the earth to do – to be a mother.”
But rumours of Ashley’s cheating on her led to divorce in 2010, and Cheryl found support from US ballroom dancer Derek Hough then, began a relationship with US hip hop choreographer Tre Holloway.
It was only then that she began talking openly about her desire for children again. She confessed: “I’d love kids. I’m obsessed with babies.
“I’ve thought about baby names a million times. I like Alfie for a little boy. I’d love a massive family. I’m from a big family. I’ve got 10 nieces and nephews.”
But she and Tre split in 2013. Just a year later, after dating for three months, Cheryl wed French restaurateur Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini in a beach ceremony on Mustique.
Cracks soon started to show and they divorced last year, something Cheryl was keen to get out the way before the baby was born. Summing up Cheryl and Liam’s romance, X Factor chief Simon Cowell said: “They’re like two little chipmunks madly in love. Literally, they’re so cute.”
An insider says the couple are thinking of making Simon a godparent to their baby, along with Cheryl’s friend and mentor will.i.am.
Joan could not be prouder of her daughter as she always encouraged Cheryl to pursue a career first. Cheryl even said she told her: “You’ve done it the right way round. You can give your children the things they need.”
Best friend Kimberley Walsh has also been on hand to give Cheryl advice on motherhood.
Last year the former Girls Aloud bandmate – who has sons Bobby, two, and Cole, two months – insisted Cheryl was more than ready for babies.
She said: “She’s really happy right now. And she’ll be a brilliant mum. She has loads of nieces and nephews, so she’s used to the madness of children.”
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