Another single, another flop. Now her music career’s hanging in the balance
She claimed last month that she’d rather have a flop than release a single she wasn’t happy with.
But according to insiders, Cheryl is secretly gutted at the lukewarm response to her much-hyped new song Let You, which – despite all the fuss and a generally positive reaction from fans – only peaked at number 57 in the charts.
Now, she’s been left facing the brutal reality that her music career might just be over for good.
Check out: Cheryl's husbands and boyfriends - where are they now?
Cheryl relationship timeline - slider with cover pic
1 of 12Swipe through to see Cheryl's relationship history...
2 of 122004-2010: Ashley Cole
Not long into her rise to fame, Cheryl started dating England footballer Ashley Cole, even attending the World Cup with the likes of Victoria Beckham and Coleen Rooney. Clearly smitten, the loved-up pair got married in 2016, penning a six-figure magazine deal at the time.
3 of 122004-2010: Ashley Cole
However, things started to turn sour for the 'golden couple' when Ashley was accused of 'cheating' on Cheryl just months after their wedding. Despite forgiving the footballer, Ashley continued with his ways, with allegations that he'd been unfaithful rocking their romance yet again. Everything got too much for Chez in 2010, when she filed for divorce from Ashley.
4 of 122010-2011: Derek Hough
Cheryl first met professional dancer Derek Hough whilst the pair filmed the music video for her hit track 'Parachute', and it seems they immediately hit it off. The former X Factor judge contracted Malaria in 2010, and she later told Piers Morgan, "I owe my life to Derek... if it wasn't for him I'd be dead."
5 of 122010-2011: Derek Hough
Despite this, it seems the pair were destined to just be friends, with Derek later revealing to the media, "We dated for a while. Absolutely we are still friends, we are still very close."
6 of 122012-2013: Tre Holloway
It seems Cheryl had quite a thing for professional dancers, as her next boyfriend was the super handsome Tre Holloway. Despite first meeting each other on The X Factor in 2010, the pair didn't grow close until 2012, with Cheryl enlisting Tre's dancing skills for her 'Ghetto Baby' music video.
7 of 122012-2013: Tre Holloway
Things seemed to be getting serious between the two, especially when Tre starred in Cheryl's ITV2 documentary. However, the long-distance relationship didn't work out, with the couple calling it quits in 2013. Speaking at the time, Tre said, "She's an amazing person, an amazing woman, and we are good friends."
8 of 122014-2016: Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini
It looked like Cheryl had found 'the one' when she met French businessman Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini in 2014. Only three months into their romance, Cheryl shocked her fans by announcing she'd married JB, in a secret beach location with her close family and friends.
9 of 122014-2016: Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini
After her second marriage, rumours of tension between Cheryl and JB started to arise, with the couple being pictured looking glum on more than one occasion. 18 months after their whirlwind wedding, Cheryl and JB were granted a quickie divorce in October 2018.
10 of 122016-2018: Liam Payne
Shortly after Cheryl divorced JB, she singer shocked the showbiz world in 2016, when she confirmed she was dating One Direction singer Liam Payne. Despite the pair having a 10-year age gap, and originally meeting when Liam was just 14-years-old on The X Factor, Cheryl and Liam instantly hit it off, posting a number of adorable snaps together.
11 of 122016-2018: Liam Payne
After what was the worst kept pregnancy secret of the decade, Cheryl and Liam welcomed a baby boy into the world in March 2017, settling on the name Bear Grey Payne.
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12 of 122016-2018: Liam Payne
Split rumours started to hit the pair in early 2018, but Cheryl and Liam were quick to shut them down, putting on a very loved-up display at the 2018 BRIT Awards. However, just five months later, the couple released a joint statement admitting they've decided to separate. Despite this, the pair remain good friends and co-parent baby Bear.
"The last week has been hellish for Cheryl, and she’s not been dealing with it well," says an insider close to the singer, who hit the promotional trail earlier this month in an attempt to drum up some excitement over her single.
"She’s been desperately checking to see if the song’s moving in the charts and what traction she’s getting on social media with her fans, but to be honest, she’s getting very little back.
Cheryl’s a tough cookie and can normally handle a lot, but facing the possibility that she might no longer be relevant enough to rustle up even a bit of interest is something she’s finding hard to deal with. She’s mortified."
This isn’t the first blow to Cheryl’s pop career. While she was once a record-breaker in the charts – and was named the first British female solo artist to have five No1 singles in the UK – her long-awaited return last year fell flat.
Her comeback song Love Made Me Do It only lasted for a week in the Top 40, which will have been embarrassing for her, considering the star said in November that she’d quit music for good if her new music didn’t do well.
Six months later, she came back with a different look and a raunchy music video. But – despite fans loving the song – low sales and a general lack of enthusiasm from the music industry have left her feeling like she’s hit a brick wall again.
According to heat magazine's sources, she now feels torn between giving the whole thing another go – or throwing in the towel for good.
"All Cheryl’s wanted to do this week is hide away. She feels really humiliated and angry," their source says.
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They continued: "She knows that her team are promoting her the best that they can, but nobody seems to be picking the song up.
"She keeps playing scenarios over in her head. At first, she was talking about how she needed to reinvent her look and her brand, but she also feels that, at this stage, perhaps nothing is going to work. It’s not like she’s got loads more songs up her sleeve.
This music took ages to put together and release, and this is not how she planned on ending her music career."
But look on the bright side.
It’s only three years until Girls Aloud’s 20th anniversary, and we’re sure the reunion’s looking more and more attractive to Chezza now…