Haunted by her exes, the former Girls Aloud star considers hiring a love coach
Her roller-coaster love life has often overshadowed her 17-year music career – with the twice-divorced star admitting recently that she loves "too easily" and "tolerates too much" in relationships following her split from Liam Payne last year.
And after the former 1D star went public with his model girlfriend Maya Henry, 19, last month, insiders say Cheryl, 36 – who revealed she sought therapy following the birth of her and Liam’s two-year-old son, Bear – is considering hiring a love coach to prevent her from making the same mistakes with her next man.
Check out: a look back at Cheryl's ex boyfriends and husbands
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.
A source says, "Since undergoing therapy, Cheryl’s become far more open to seeking advice from professionals who can help her in all aspects of her life, and she’s prepared to work hard on her own deep-rooted issues and anxieties to ensure they don’t impact on future relationships.
"She did a lot of reflecting following her split from Liam, and it also made her focus on her other past romances and what had gone wrong.
"She’s always turned to her close friends for advice with love in the past, but she knows that they’re so close to her, it’s hard always to be objective.
"So, she’s become open to the idea of having a love coach who could help her establish what was behind her failed romances, pinpoint what went wrong and advise how to ensure she doesn’t end up going through any of that again.
"She says she’s determined not to make the same mistakes again."
Cheryl was left heartbroken in 2010 when she filed for divorce from the "love of her life", footballer Ashley Cole, 38, amid a string of cheating allegations, just four years after their fairy-tale wedding.
Following short-lived romances with American dancers Derek Hough and Tre Holloway, the Love Made Me Do It singer then wed second husband Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini after a whirlwind three-month romance, though the marriage collapsed just 18 months later when she filed for divorce on the grounds of "unreasonable behaviour", which her lawyers said "caused stress and weight loss".
Then, reflecting on love after her split from Liam, 26, last July after two and a half years together, she admitted, "I think I love too easily," adding, "I think I tolerate too much. I don’t set clear enough boundaries in the beginning."
Earlier this year, the former Girls Aloud star said she was open to finding love again but was keen to meet someone out of the spotlight, revealing, "I would 100 per cent date a shelf-stacker from Sainsbury’s," before adding how she was longing to give Bear a sibling and was open to the option of using a sperm donor if she didn’t meet her Mr Right.
Insiders recently told Closer how the Newcastle-born star – who was brought up by her single mum, Joan, after her parents split when she was 11 – was left unnerved after finding out Ashley was house-hunting just five minutes away from her new Buckinghamshire home with his model girlfriend, Sharon Canu, and their two children.
After revealing how therapy helped combat her crippling anxiety by "actively undoing" all the negative thought patterns and self-loathing, pals say Cheryl is hoping a love coach can help her finally tackle her old demons and find long-lasting happiness.
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The source adds, "Cheryl wants to settle down again and give Bear a stable family life, but she’s worried about being haunted by old ghosts and bringing all those issues into a new relationship.
"While she has the utmost respect for her mum bringing her and her siblings up alone, she doesn’t want to be a single mum forever and wants a partner to have more babies and share special moments with.
"Having Bear in the mix makes it harder, as she’s nervous about him bonding with a new man and the effect it will have on him if it all goes wrong, so she’s hoping that with the help of an expert, she can finally work towards getting the happy ending she’s so desperate to find."