Cheryl ‘Grew Sick' Of Liam's ‘Other Women'

Insiders reveal how the final straw for Cheryl and Liam Payne’s two-year romance was his ‘single man’ behaviour following a string of gaffes.

- Rebecca Twomey

Rumours had been swirling for months that Cheryl and Liam Payne’s relationship was on the rocks, and last week they finally confirmed it was over. In a post on Twitter, Cheryl revealed that it was a “tough decision,” adding they “still have so much love for each other as a family.”

But insiders tell Closer the split was acrimonious and that Cheryl, 35, ended things following 24-year-old Liam’s partying with other women during his trip to South America last month.

A source says, “Things had been breaking down since the start of the year, but Liam’s trip to Brazil was the final straw and close friends feel Cheryl couldn’t help but realise how different they were and that it was time to face up to the fact it wasn’t working.

“Cheryl trusted him – and there’s no suggestion he did anything wrong – but at times it almost felt like he was behaving like a single man. It was only going to be a matter of time before she grew sick of his partying, praising other women in interviews and flirting on stage with Rita Ora. Of course, he’s a young star building an international pop career and he had to be seen to be ‘out there’ and living it up, but that lifestyle was hard for her, especially with a baby at home. Essentially, they were on different pages.

“It was also felt Liam wasn’t helping things by fuelling reports of issues in their relationship with everything he was saying publicly. Liam would still like to be with Cheryl, but things changed so drastically in their relationship, it was too late to save it.”