Fragile Cheryl: 'I Feel Close To Liam Again'

Cheryl’s ex, Liam Payne, has been a shoulder to cry on after her comeback single flops and her X Factor performance is slated

- Rebecca Twomey

She’s no stranger to a setback, with two failed marriages, a criminal conviction for actual bodily harm in 2003 and a sacking from the US X Factor in 2011 behind her.

But last week, Cheryl hit a major stumbling block when her comeback single, Love Made Me Do It, tanked. It only sold 5,000 copies and dropped to number 48 in the charts, while I’m A Celeb! star Nick Knowles’ single, Make You Feel My Love, reached the top spot.

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But it was her sexually suggestive performance on The X Factor that caused the most uproar. Her routine – which involved licking her hand and gyrating against her male dancers – was met with a barrage of criticism, with viewers branding it “cringe” and “too sexualised.” Ofcom confirmed they were assessing complaints about her routine, aired before the 9pm watershed.

It prompted Cheryl, 35, to post a rant on Twitter that included, “The sheer level of unbalanced negativity towards me in the tabloid press these past few days has been quite frankly shocking and I need to address it. This level of relentless abuse should not be tolerated in any walk of life.” She added, “I did watch my performance back and I LOVED IT!”

Now pals reveal that her ex, Liam Payne – father to her 20-month-old son, Bear – has offered his support, despite their split in July.

The source says, “Liam has been in touch with Cheryl as friends and is offering her a shoulder of support. He told her to vent at him following the reaction to her X Factor performance.