How therapy helped Cheryl get over Liam
The singer speaks out about her struggle with anxiety
It’s been a year now since Cheryl split from boyfriend Liam Payne, and the 36-year-old singer has recently admitted that she turned to therapy to help her deal with her mental health struggles. “I actually had therapy for a year,” she told Radio 1. “I struggled for so many years with anxiety and in my own head, thinking things… I didn’t want that to be happening when I was trying to focus on raising a child.” Cheryl – who co-parents two-yearold son Bear with Liam – revealed she had kept her feelings to herself for too long, and eventually felt she had to get help. “I would walk out to a wall of paparazzi and put on a smile, but inside I was dying. I struggled for so long in silence, I wouldn’t even open up to friends and family. I was very closed.” And an insider close to the singer tells heat that Cheryl’s difficult break-up with Liam, 25 – and his moving on from the relationship so quickly – played a part in her continuing to seek help. “Seeing Liam enjoy his single status
with some of the world’s most beautiful women has destroyed her self-confidence and opened up deep wounds from her early teens, when she battled body issues,” we’re told. “When Liam started dating Naomi Campbell, she suddenly felt as though everyone was comparing her to the standard of a supermodel, and it left her feeling worthless.
“It was even worse when Liam recorded his duet with Rita Ora – although their relationship was purely professional. They were being pictured out and about together while she was at home with Bear, feeling low. It’s been such a rough ride for her.”
But we’re told therapy has been a real saviour for Cheryl. “It’s really helped give her a fresh perspective. She’s really focussed on making sure her TV career is back on top, and is doing her best to block out all of Liam’s bachelor behaviour,” says the source. “She’s been toying with the idea of moving back to Newcastle, but feels that it might be too tricky to juggle with TV commitments in London. But whatever happens from here on, Cheryl feels stronger because she got professional help.” n