Liam Payne and Cheryl Cole may have spent the past two years madly in love, but the couple have officially decided to make the “tough decision” to separate. At least, that’s what what Payne claimed on Twitter.
Cheryl and I are sad to announce that we are going our separate ways. It's been a tough decision for us to make. We still have so much love for each other as a family. Bear is our world and we ask that you respect his privacy as we navigate our way through this together.
— Liam (@LiamPayne) July 1, 2018
The couple has a one-year-old son together (who is the aforementioned Bear) and have a long, complicated history between them. In fact, they first met in 2008 on X Factor U.K., where Cheryl was a judge and Liam was a contestant — and when Liam was only 14 years old. It seems pretty scandalous when you realize Cole is 10 years his senior, but the two didn’t officially start dating until around 2016, when Cole officially split from her second husband, Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini.
Cole released a strikingly similar tweet to announce their separation, which personally intrigues the hell out of me — the world of PR-crafted messages seems so bizarre, but it’s not surprising that the singers took this route, considering the slew of celebrity couples breaking up recently have all posted similar tweets about “much love” and the need for privacy. Perhaps it’s better than airing dirty laundry for the public to see.
We are sad to announce that we are going our separate ways. It's been a tough decision for us to make. We still have so much love for each other as a family. Bear is our world and we ask that you respect his privacy as we navigate our way through this together.
— Cheryl (@CherylOfficial) July 1, 2018
Welp, I guess Liam Payne is officially back on the market. Do what you will with that information. [tc-mark}