During her pop-star days, Cheryl loved a night out. But now she’s a mum, she’s no longer a regular on the party scene, preferring to spend time with her three-year-old son Bear Payne. And over the past six months, they have become more inseparable than ever after quarantining at the singer’s Buckinghamshire mansion. In fact, the pair have barely been seen or heard from, apart from a small video Cheryl posted on Insta of her talking to her son.
But last week, it looked like Cheryl and Bear had burst back onto the social scene in style, after they attended the birthday celebrations of Kimberley Walsh’s six-year-old son Bobby.
Proud mum Kimberley posted a series of pictures and videos to illustrate the lavish bash she had thrown at her house for her eldest boy and, in one video, Cheryl can be heard talking to another guest, while it looks like the back of Bear’s head is in the picture of Bobby getting his cake.
While Kimberley didn’t say it was Bear, heat has done a bit of detective work and concluded that the child in Kim’s picture bears a striking resemblance to the last picture Cheryl put up of Bear, which was a back-of-his-head shot of him at Lapland UK last Christmas.
Girls Aloud: where are they now?
Girls Aloud - where are they now?
1 of 10Cheryl
During her time in Girls Aloud Cheryl married and divorced footballer ex-husband Ashley Cole after he cheated. Cheryl was also found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm following an altercation with a nightclub toilet attended in 2003. On a slightly lighter note (well, kind of) she threw a lot of shade when she said she "didn't think" Nicole Scherzinger would make it as a solo artist…
2 of 10Cheryl - 2020
Since her time in Girls Aloud, Chez has gone on to launch her solo career, she was a judge on The X Factor, moved onto The X Factor US but was sacked three weeks later and had a falling out with Simon Cowell. Despite texting him "f—k you. F—k the UK X Factor. F—k you all. I hate you," she returned to the show four years later. Cheryl has since become a judge on BBC's The Greatest Dancer. Chez was also an ambassador for L'Oreal and in 2020 she starred in the movie Four Kids and It.And after her divorce from Ashley, Cheryl got married to Jean-Bernard Fernandez but they split in 2016. She then dated Liam Payne and despite splitting in 2018 they're now co-parenting their son Bear Grey Payne.
3 of 10Kimberley Walsh
Kimberley was pretty unproblematic in Girls Aloud, although we can't forget when she completely backed Cheryl throwing shade at Nicole Scherzinger. Kimberley also didn't seem keen on the idea of the Pussycat Dolls star launching a solo career.
4 of 10Kimberley Walsh - 2020
Post-Girls Aloud, Kimberley climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in 2009 to raise money for Comic Relief, she has presented on TV and in 2012 she starred on Strictly Come Dancing and came runner up alongside her professional partner Pasha Kovalev. She's also married her long-term partner Justin Scott and they're parents to Bobby and Cole.
5 of 10Nadine Coyle
After Girls Aloud split in 2013, Nadine made it clear that it was not her idea. "You should know by now I had no part in any of this split business. I couldn't stop them. I had the best time & want to keep going," she tweeted at the time.
6 of 10Nadine Coyle - 2020
Nadine has pretty much become a meme after the nation discovered how she says "flour" on Sunday Brunch. She launched her own solo career, took part in I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! 2019 and following a brief split from her fiancé Jason Bell they went on to have a child and tie the knot. Unfortunately they split months before she flew out to the jungle.
7 of 10Sarah Harding
Sarah was definitely the funniest of the group. Remember at the Brit Awards in 2009 when Girls Aloud won Best Single for The Promise and Sarah shouted down the microphone, "Can I just say, it's about timmmeee… I think I just wet myself." Obsessed.
8 of 10Sarah Harding - 2018
Sarah has starred on Coronation Street as Joni Preston, she won Celebrity Big Brother 2017 and in 2017 it came to light that she allegedly had an affair with Danny Dyer back in the day. She also got engaged to DJ Tom Crane but they called off their wedding and in 2011 she entered rehab for alcohol dependence and depression.
9 of 10Nicole Roberts
Remember when Matt Willis called Nicola a "rude ginger b-tch" and she hit back but writing 'I'm a rude ginger b-tch… bothered!' on her shorts? Now that's iconic.
10 of 10Nicola Roberts - 2020
Nicola has also launched her solo career and she won the first series of The Masked Singer UK.
Cheryl, 37, and Bear getting out more and meeting up with friends (all socially distanced, of course) marks another change in their lives, as Bear has started pre-school. During the first couple of years of his life, Cheryl admitted that she rarely left his side and wanted to do everything herself. But he started nursery earlier this year, and his dad Liam Payne has confirmed he’s now taken the next step in his schooling.
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Liam, 27 – who split from Cheryl two years ago and is now engaged to model Maya Henry – revealed, “I mean, in the last week, I’ve just had a birthday, my son has gone to school for the first time today, so it seems like a lot of firsts for me… which is great.”
And with all the new friends Bear will make at school, he and Cheryl better get ready for lots more parties.
Read more in the latest issue of heat magazine - OUT NOW.