Cheryl In Limbo As Liam Says : I Don't Need To Marry Her

Does his frank confession come as a blow to traditional Cheryl?

- Hannah Fernando

For millions of women it’s the stuff of dreams – having Liam Payne telling the world how much he loves you. But for Cheryl Tweedy, Liam’s girlfriend and mother of his only child Bear – who was born in March – the reality may be getting closer to a nightmare right now. Why? Because in case you haven’t noticed, Cheryl, 33, has come over all shy for the past year, treating the spotlight as turkeys do Christmas.

Hidden away behind the high walls of the Surrey mansion she shares with Liam, 23, Cheryl has been nesting and generally taking a well-earned break from public scrutiny. That was fine until recently, when she stopped sharing the luxury pad with Liam – after he set off on a global promotional tour and left her at home quite literally holding the baby.

Times have changed. And while most girls would give their right arm to have Cheryl’s problems, for her this is a time of serious soul searching…

PUT A RING ON IT

Surely at the top of the worry list is Cheryl’s marital status. While she’s no stranger to the altar, having been married twice before – to Ashley Cole, then Jean-Bernard Fernandez- Versini – Cheryl has spoken in many interviews about how traditional she is.

Even during the early days of fame, a husband and children (in that order) was very much a life goal. Writing in her autobiography Cheryl: My Story, she said: ‘Where I come from the women have their children young and I never wanted to be an older mother.’

She also revealed one particular driving force behind her desire for Girls Aloud to take a break, confessing to telling bandmate Nicola Roberts: ‘I just want to be a wife.’