Cheryl and her ex-partner Liam Payne, who sadly passed away last month at the age of 31, had been navigating co-parenting their son Bear since their split in 2018.

Despite their breakup, they remained united in making tough parenting decisions and supporting each other through personal challenges. Cheryl, now 41, has openly discussed her struggles with self-esteem and anxiety during her time in the spotlight with Girls Aloud and as an X Factor judge.

In a candid interview with Radio 1’s Life Hacks, she admitted to harsh self-criticism, saying: “I would talk to myself so nastily. ‘You silly cow. You stupid b—–.’ No one could make me feel worse about myself than I did, and that was a massive problem.”

She also revealed the facade she maintained for the public: “I would walk out to a wall of paparazzi and put on a smile but inside I was dying.”

Her turning point came after giving birth to Bear, realizing she needed to change for her son’s sake.

Cheryl opened up about her battle with anxiety, saying, “I struggled for so many years with anxiety and in my own head. I didn’t want that to be happening when I was trying to focus on raising a child.”

To confront her demons, she sought the help of a therapist and faced cognitive behavioural therapy to tackle “years of self-loathing”. She shared how the process enabled her to “actively undo” all the damaging inner dialogue and thought habits she had grown used to.

“It felt like my responsibilities shifted and my priorities changed and I needed to be settled in my own head to be able to give him the best that I could possibly give him,” Cheryl expressed further. The Girls Aloud singer saw her confidence deeply affected by past romantic woes, including feeling betrayed and deceived.

Her initial marital bliss with Ashley Cole fell apart amid rumours he had a fling with hairdresser Aimee Walton. This Northeastern pop powerhouse tried to mend things, even channeling her resolve into her hit song, Fight For This Love. Nonetheless, despite her valiant efforts, by 2010 the relationship was unequivocally done—Cheryl cited ‘unreasonable behaviour’ in her divorce filings following new cheating claims.

In the summer of July 2014, Cheryl shocked fans by secretly marrying her second husband, French restaurateur Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versinim. However, the whirlwind romance was short-lived and by 2016, Cheryl found herself back in the divorce courts. She cited ‘unreasonable behaviour’ from Jean-Bernard as the cause of her ‘stress and weight loss’. Despite allegations of infidelity, Jean-Bernard has reportedly denied cheating on Cheryl.

Following claims that Liam was her only faithful partner, it appears there is no animosity between them despite their split a year after the birth of their son Bear. In a 2018 interview with The Sunday Times’ Style magazine, Cheryl told journalist Decca Aitkenhead that Liam was ‘the only man who has ever been faithful to her’.

After two and a half years together, the couple announced their separation but pledged to remain close for the sake of their son. Their statement read: “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.”

In 2022, Liam opened up about the quality time he spent with his son. He revealed: “I see him two times a week, three times a week sometimes. And I make sure when I see him, he has 100 percent of my time. I make sure that I’m not on my phone or d—ing around somewhere else. So, I like to give him those moments and it’s important, he needs that in his life, he needs his dad in his life, and I’m happy he looks at me like a superhero, and I’m hoping to keep it that way.”

After Liam’s tragic fall from the third floor of a boutique hotel in Argentina on October 16, Cheryl shared a touching tribute.

She wrote: “Liam was not only a pop star and a celebrity, he was a son, a brother, an uncle, a dear friend and a father to our seven-year-old son. A son that now has to face the reality of never seeing his father again.”