Christmas is the time of year you really don’t want to piss your family off. Arguments over how to cook the Brussels sprouts are bad enough, you don’t want any other tensions boiling to the surface. But there may be a few passive aggressive comments thrown back and forth between Cheryl and ex-boyfriend Liam Payne over the holidays, after old tensions were brought back to light with a few choice words from the 27 year old.
Liam recently shared a letter he’d written to his 10-year-old self, discussing his rise to fame from his current perspective. In the letter, he wrote, “When you turn 14, something magical is going to happen and I’m not talking about puberty. Not only will you audition for one of the biggest music shows in the world, but you’re also gonna meet the future mother of your child.”
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.
An insider close to Cheryl – who was 24 at Liam’s first X Factor audition and only started dating him eight years later – tells heat that she is fed up with him reminding the world of their first encounter.
“Liam's 'verbal diarrhoea' was probably the cause of a lot of their arguments when they were together, and she can't believe he's still talking about it - given how much their lives have moved on from that point! It's such a sore point for her, and it still causes huge embarrassment, especially as she says it's taken so out of context now.”
In the letter, Liam pushed the issue even further by writing, “I know, seems early, but trust me, it’s all going to work out like it’s supposed to,” jokily adding, “I suggest you watch Back to the Future, it might help.”
We’re told that Cheryl, 37, thinks it’s “inappropriate” that he keeps bringing up their 10-year age gap – and that she’s asked him to stop referencing it.
“It's become this odd control thing between them. They get on well co-parenting Bear and like to give the impression that everything is wonderfully civil, but there's still tension there between them. Liam sometimes feels he doesn't get a lot of say in raising Bear, and while Cheryl tries to keep him very involved in their son’s life, it's not the same now that they are no longer together.”
Liam also wrote about Bear in his letter, telling his younger self, “You’re about to start a total new journey with the most amazing person you’ve met so far, your son, Bear.” And while it’s clear Cheryl doesn’t regret having her son with Liam, our source explains, “She just wishes he would just use a bit of common sense and get the hint that she doesn’t want him to speak about when they first met.”
Read more in the bumper Christmas issue of heat magazine - OUT NOW.