Cheryl and Liam Payne sent shockwaves when they were pictured holding hands at a Tesco in Guildford back in 2016.
A celebrity romance no-one saw coming, the singer, 38, had just had a fleeting marriage to Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini, while Liam, 28, was newly-single after the end of his two year romance with school friend Sophia Smith.
After their relationship became public knowledge, the couple welcomed their son Bear, five, to the world a year later.
And now with Liam giving a new insight into their relationship and what prompted their split this week, Mirror Online looks back at their romance from when they first met on The X Factor to their PDA-filled BRITs appearance where they were plagued split rumours.
The exes first met way back in 2008, when Liam auditioned as a solo artist for The X Factor aged 14 - and Cheryl was a big fan of his voice.
She said: "I like you, I think you're really cute. I think you've got charisma and you give us that little cheeky wink."
Reflecting on the wink, Liam said this week: "It’s a licenced weapon please don’t try it. I went back to school the day after I winked at Cheryl in the audition and my friends are going ‘what do you think you’re doing winking at Cheryl Cole on TV?'
"Fast forward a few years and we ended up having a baby together."
Liam didn't make it past the judges houses, but later auditioned for the show in 2010 when he made his big break as one fifth of One Direction.
It was during Liam's second go on The X Factor, that the teenager hinted at having a crush on Cheryl when she took over to manage the band one week after fellow judge Simon Cowell was ill.
Liam said the band found it hard to concentrate when they were asked about their new mentor.
Skipping forward to February 2016, the Strip That Down hitmaker hinted he was dating Cheryl as he shared a cryptic picture of a rose and wrote: "Happy Valentine's Day baby".
After several flirty comments on Instagram, fans began to suspect they were an item with it being confirmed when they were pictured during a late night shopping trip to Tesco.
In May 2016, they made their first appearance at the Global Gift Gala, with fans questioning if Cheryl was pregnant with their first child.
In October, Cheryl's divorce to Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini was finalised and pregnancy rumours were gaining pace.
A month later, the Girls Aloud singer's bump was clear to see as she headed to a Christmas Carol service in London.
In March 2017, the couple welcomed their first child, a son named Bear Grey Payne and said they were "madly in love" with him.
Liam continued to do several awkward interviews where he talked about their sex life saying he had "no complaints from Cheryl about the size of my manhood".
While engagement rumours surfaced over the next few month, when they made their appearance at BRITs in February 201, there were reports their relationship was under strain.
In a bid to quash speculation about an imminent split, the pair packed on the PDA.
But just four months later the pair announced their split.
Now, in a new interview Liam said welcoming son Bear with ex Cheryl "ruined their relationship -but for all the right reasons".
At the time Liam was just 23 and detailed how he struggled to come to terms with becoming a father.
Speaking candidly to US YouTuber Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast, the former One Direction singer said: "I like to talk to other new dads. You don’t know what is coming."
Touching on the breakdown of his two-year relationship with Cheryl he shared: "To be honest with you, it ruined a relationship at that point – but for all the right reasons.
"I was so excited for him to be born that I was actually worried if I wouldn’t love him enough."
He revealed it was scary when Bear was first born as Cheryl "haemorrhaged quite badly" after the birth.
This meant she had to rest for much of Bear’s first day in the world – leaving a young Liam to care for his baby son.
"It was me and a baby in the room and I had to take care of him. It was fun," he said.
Discussing the relationship he has with his son, Liam added: "I take my son to school one or two times a week and it’s the best thing.
"The relationship we [him and Cheryl] have now as friends has only grown more.
"We broke up for a reason and now she gives me full autonomy of my life and to do what I do and I know he’s [Bear’s] taken care of.
"He is all she cares about and I couldn’t ask for more."
