What’s in a name? Mine’s just Cheryl now, thanks
Former X Factor judge and Girls Aloud star, who once caught Prince Charles out, reveals relationship split
WHEN you are Cheryl Tweedy née Fernandez-versini née Cole née Tweedy, perhaps a surname is more trouble than it’s worth.
Or perhaps observers are not quite sure what to call the former X Factor judge and Girls Aloud singer, who yesterday announced her split from Liam Payne, the former X Factor contestant and One Direction singer.
Both the BBC and the Press Association solemnly reported that “Cheryl” and Payne were going their separate ways after a two-year relationship, elevating her to the ranks of stars who are known by just one name: Madonna, Cher, Prince, Pelé, Liberace.
Via her Twitter account, where she bills herself by first name only as @cherylofficial, came a statement in language familiar to connoisseurs of the celebrity break-up. “We are sad to announce that we are going our separate ways. It’s been a tough decision for us to make. We still have so much love for each other as a family.
“Bear is our world and we ask that you respect his privacy as we navigate our way through this together.”
Bear is the couple’s one-year-old son. The statement was coordinated with a front page tabloid story in which sources close to the couple said the separation was a “mutual, loving decision” made with “no animosity” whatsoever.
The question of what to call the twice-divorced star has even troubled the Prince of Wales, when he was told of her work supporting the Prince’s Trust.
“I thought to myself some time ago, ‘Who’s Cheryl Tweedy?’ I suddenly realised I knew the Cheryl bit but missed out on the Tweedy,” he said at a charity event earlier this year. For administrative purposes, the 35-year-old singer has reverted to her original name of Tweedy, but her reluctance to use it publicly is understandable.
It was under that name that she was found guilty of assault in 2003 for punching a nightclub lavatory attendant in the face. At the time she was a newly minted pop star, chosen by viewers to be part of Girls Aloud, the manufactured television talent show group.
There was perhaps a time when a conviction for battering a stranger could sully a star’s reputation, but in the world of modern celebrity, it was merely a blip.
She moved on to her first marriage, becoming Cheryl
Cole in 2006 when she married Ashlehyas Cole, the Chelsea footballer. He proposed during a camel ride in Dubai. The couple received £1 million for selling the picture rights to a celebrity magazine, became the faces of the National Lottery, and the bride had “Mrs C” tattooed on her neck.
They divorced in 2009 but she hung on to the name until 2014, when she married Jean-bernard Fernandez-versini, the French restauranter, after a whirlwind romance. She announced the marriage by posting a picture of her wedding ring on Instagram. It lasted two years.
The idea of adopting a single moniker took shape during the marriage, when she realised that her latest name was proving problematic. “It’s just ‘Cheryl’ because everyone seems to be having a hard time saying it,” she said. In 2016, she began a relationship with Payne, having first met him in 2008 when she was 25 and he was a 14-year-old hopeful auditioning for The X Factor.
Tweedy reportedly turned down the chance to become Cheryl Payne, fearing that her third marriage would go the way of her other two.
Bear was born in March 2017, soon followed by rumours that all was not well in the relationship. Asked what his partner was called, Payne explained: “Her name is officially Cheryl Tweedy now, but to be honest it doesn’t really bother me. We have a kid together. There’s a lot more in our life.”
As a sign of true devotion, Payne had a rose tattoo on his hand to match the one covering Cheryl’s backside.