She had a stratospheric career after finding fame on a talent show, enjoying pop success, becoming a primetime TV star, landing high-profile modelling contracts and becoming part of an A-list couple with 1D star Liam Payne
But following a troubled year dominated by their split and a faltering pop comeback that was slammed by critics, Cheryl appears to be struggling to cope with the negativity surrounding her.
Last week, it emerged that her lawyers had tried to block any further mention of her conviction for assaulting a toilet attendant in 2003.
The shocking incident – which saw her fined £3,000 and given 120 hours of community service – was brought up in a recent interview with the star, who reportedly turned frosty and branded it “irrelevant” and “boring”.
Now insiders say the singer is determined to put her troubled past behind her for the sake of her and Liam’s 22-month-old son, Bear.
CHECK OUT shocking celeb boob jobs - before and after
Celeb boob jobs before and after
1 of 48Victoria Beckham, 1997
The artist formerly known as Posh Spice has never been one to shy away from baring the flesh. She had A-cup breasts on her frame back in the '90s.
2 of 48Victoria Beckham, 2013
Victoria girl-powered into the nougties with a noticeably larger 32DD chest but now appears to have reverted to her naturally smaller breast size.
3 of 48Samia Ghadie, 2011
Coronation Street hairdresser Samia Ghadie has always had a lovely, petite frame.
4 of 48Samia Ghadie, 2017
She went from an A- to a C-cup in 2013 after giving birth to her daughter Freya. The actress said: "After Freya was born my boobs disappeared. Anybody who knows me will know that it's something I talked about having done. I wanted to feel womanly again."
5 of 48Katie Price, 1995
Glamour girl Katie Price - formerly 'Jordan' - started her career with 32B sized boobs.
6 of 48Katie Price, 2018
Multiple boob jobs later, Katie's boobs were at their biggest when she was 32G in 2007. She has since had reductions and continues to talk about plans for more surgery.
7 of 48Heidi Montag, 2005
Reality TV star Heidi Montag first hit our screens on American show The Hills.
8 of 48Heidi Pratt, 2013
Fast-forward a decade later and Heidi - now married to Spencer Pratt - had size F-cup breast implants. She has since spoken of her regrets and underwent a reduction.
9 of 48Tiff Watson, 2015
Made In Chelsea star Tiff Watson LOVES working out and sticks to a strict vegan diet.
10 of 48Tiff Watson, 2018
Following her breakup with co-star and longterm BF Sam Thompson, there has been much speculation over her noticeably bigger cleavage.
11 of 48Imogen Thomas, 2006
Big Brother contestant and Welsh beauty Imogen was always very confident in getting out her bod on-screen.
12 of 48Imogen Thomas, 2011
But that didn't stop her going up to an E-cup after leaving the BB house. She has since had a reduction to a C-cup.
13 of 48Stephanie Waring, 2009
Stephanie Waring has played scheming Cindy Cunningham on and off in Hollyoaks since 1996.
14 of 48Stephanie Waring, 2017
Stephanie said her body completely transformed after the birth of her daughter, so she boosted her chest to a D-cup.
15 of 48Kym Marsh, 2013
Former Hear'Say singer and Corrie star Michelle has had three children.
16 of 48Kym Marsh, 2017
She has talked about how happy she is with her body after going from a B-cup to a 34D.
17 of 48Dannii Minogue, 1995
Former popstar and X-Factor judge Dannii Minogue has always had a tiny figure much like her sister Kylie.
18 of 48Dannii Minogue, 2010
She decided to get her breasts enlarged after divorcing her husband Julian McMahon.
19 of 48Jess Shears, 2017
Jess had a boob job when she was 20, before appearing on Love Island.
20 of 48Jess Shears, 2018
But after another procedure, which she said was a 'botched job', Jess had a reduction.
21 of 48Gemma Atkinson, 2005
Actress Gemma Atkinson first appeared on our screens as Lisa Hunter in Hollyoaks.
22 of 48Gemma Atkinson, 2016
Gemma had double D-cup implants but has since spoken about how she regrets making the decision after feeling insecure following weight-loss.
23 of 48Marnie Simpson, 2014
Geordie Shore and Celebrity Big Brother star Marnie Simpson has spoken out about how there was a lot of pressure to look good on TV.
24 of 48Marnie Simpson, 2018
After a botched boob job in 2016, Marnie has since appeared in Celebrity Botched Up Bodies and had corrective surgery.
25 of 48Vicky Pattison, 2011
Geordie Shore beauty and queen of the I'm A Celeb jungle Vicky Pattison has always been upfront about getting surgery.
26 of 48Vicky Pattison, 2018
Vicky went from a 32B to a 32D because she wasn't happy with how her boobs looked. She said: "When I lost my weight, they were just really lifeless and limp. One got really long and the other got really small."
27 of 48Chantelle Houghton, 2006
Celebrity Big Brother 'Living the Dream' winner Chantelle Houghton had B-cup boobs when she entered the house.
28 of 48Chantelle Houghton, 2011
Soon after winning CBB and living the celeb highlife, Chantelle got FF implants. She recently talked about her regrets about doing this and has had a reduction.
29 of 48Charlotte Crosby, 2013
Geordie Shore's Charlotte Crosby referred to her chest as a 'uniboob' - this is a symptom of a condition she was born with called congenital symmastia.
30 of 48Charlotte Crosby, 2018
Charlotte had a procedure on her boobs in 2017 and she looks very happy with the results.
31 of 48Rebekah Vardy, 2016
Loose Women panellist Rebekah Vardy has spoken about how she regrets going under the knife eight years ago.
32 of 48Rebekah Vardy, 2018
33 of 48Martina Big, 2011
Here's what controversial German actress and model Martina Big looked before getting surgery.
34 of 48Martina Big, 2017
Now known for her EXTREME body modifications, Martina's boobs are an eye-watering 32S-cup. She even uses a pump to inflate her breasts with saline. Do not try this at home!
35 of 48Kate Hudson, 2010
Kate Hudson has never admitted it but is rumoured to have had a little help from surgeons with her chest.
36 of 48Kate Hudson, 2017
It's thought that she went from an AA to a B. Thoughts?
37 of 48Darryn Lyons, 2006
Not going to lie, we'd never heard of 'Mr Paparazzi' before he went into Celebrity Big Brother in 2010.
38 of 48Darryn Lyons, 2010
But he became an instant legend due to his cosmetically enhanced abs. Wow. Just... wow.
39 of 48Rodrigo Alves, circa 2003 and 2018
Rodrigo Alves AKA the human Ken doll began having cosmetic procedures when he was just 19.
40 of 48Rodrigo Alves, 2018
He's said to have spent £10,000 on pec implants and £22,000 on a fake six-pack. Blimey.
41 of 48Lateysha Grace, 2017
The Valleys and Big Brother star Lateysha Grace used to have whopping F-cup implants.
42 of 48Lateysha Grace, 2018
Lateysha had her implants removed in 2018 to combat back pain.
43 of 48Luisa Zissman, 2013
Luisa thought her boob implants made her look like a "Love Island porn star".
44 of 48Luisa Zissman, 2018
She had her E-cup implants removed in 2018, taking her down to a "B or C cup."
45 of 48Ellie Brown, 2018
Ellie Brown appeared on Love Island in 2018, sent in as bait for Dr Alex George. Somehow, she resisted his charms and coupled up with Charlie Brake.
46 of 48Ellie Brown, 2019
Ellie allegedly went under the knife in October 2018, taking her bust from a 32B to a 32C. It's claimed she kept her surgery on the down low as she didn't want to influence her young followers on Instagram.
47 of 48Chloe Khan (formerly Mafia) 2010
Chloe Mafia, as she was then known, was mercilessly mocked by the public after her disastrous X Factor stint in 2010 for her 'chavvy' look.
48 of 48Chloe Khan 2017
Fast forward a few years and Chloe has rebranded herself as a savvy businesswoman and bought herself a pair of GIANT boobs to boot.
A source says, “Since becoming a mum, Cheryl’s been even more aware of what is published about her. She always knew she might have to explain her assault conviction to Bear one day, but wants to do it on her own terms and hates the idea of him seeing anything online about it as he grows up.
“She had hoped that, nearly 16 years on, the whole thing could be forgotten about. She hated it being brought up again in the interview and asked her lawyers to help prevent it happening again. She knows she can’t change the past, but she just wants to be able to move on.”
The assault has been widely reported in the past and Cheryl – who was found guilty of assault but not guilty of racially-aggravated assault on Sophie Amogbokpa – even spoke about it in her autobiography Cheryl: My Story.
She insisted she’d been acting in self-defence during the incident with Ms Amogbokpa, later explaining, “As the months went on and I prepared for the trial, I started to see that it was not acceptable to have hit her under any circumstances, even in self-defence.”
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Ms Amogbokpa insisted the row had started after Cheryl began taking sweets from her table in the toilet, and that Cheryl had to be restrained by security after punching her. The injury caused swelling and bruising to her eye – she also claimed her vision was temporarily blurred and she was unable to work for six weeks.
During Cheryl’s sentencing, the judge claimed she’d shown “no remorse”, and Ms Amogbokpa publicly stated she had not received an apology.
The source adds, “Cheryl feels she’s said all she wants to about the incident and wants to put it behind her. Her statements in her book were her final words on it, so she’s understandably upset that her past has come back to haunt her.
"The fear is that whenever the assault is mentioned, it sparks curiosity for people to go online and read through all the details again. She hates being associated with a violent crime and it’s terrible for her image – especially now she’s a mum.”
Speaking to Closer about Cheryl’s legal team’s request to block reporting, solicitor Louise Lambert, from law firm Reviewed & Cleared, tells Closer, “The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act wasn’t designed to prevent the media from mentioning previous convictions, it was designed to help rehabilitated offenders back into employment. Cheryl’s case has been widely reported, including in her book. As a role model in the public eye, there is a strong public interest in being able to report what happened.”
Read even more about Cheryl in this week's Closer - out now.