Cheryl is facing backlash over her relationship with her ex-boyfriend and father to her child after she was slammed about their 10-year age gap.
The singer-turned-actress and former One Direction star Liam Payne originally met on X Factor when Liam was only 14.
At the time of the budding musician's audition in 2008, Cheryl was married to ex-husband Ashley Cole.
However, following Cheryl's divorce, she got together with Liam in 2016 and the pair dated for almost two years before ending their relationship.
And despite the innocent journey that brought the two together, the pair's relationship is facing fresh scrutiny following Phillip Schofield's recent admission that he had an affair with a much younger colleague, reports the Mirror.
After the news of the scandal broke, many began discussing the former X-Factor judge and her ex-boyfriend's romance.
One Twitter user wrote: "Cheryl met Liam Payne aged 14, and later had a kid with him."
Someone else added: "Cheryl met Liam Payne when she was a judge on X Factor. He was 14 at the time. She went on to have a relationship with him several years later."
“How come no one is questioning Cheryl Cole when she met Liam Payne at 14?! I don't agree with Phillip Scofield’s lies or cheating however we have to look at the bigger picture and if its questioned for a man why not a woman?!,” wrote a third social media user.
And another person asked: “What do we think about Cheryl Cole who had a baby with Liam Payne who she’d known since he was 14? In air of Philip Schofield, obviously.”
Following the fresh airing of their initial introduction, a source close to the former Girls Aloud star has said she'd "love" to have her say, but is worried about the consequences.
Speaking to Heat magazine, the source claimed: "Cheryl fears this is going to blow it all up for her, because no one wants to be associated with anything like that.
"She’d love nothing more than to have her say, but she knows it never comes out that way.
"For Cheryl, the 14-year-old thing is so twisted, and infuriating – she was married at the time, and there was absolutely no link with Liam there at all."
Despite some people bringing up Cheryl and Liam’s first meeting, many Twitter users were quick to support the former couple.
One person wrote in their defence to a previous comment: “Because they had no relationship in between his auditioning & their romantic relationship years later.”
"Was she in a sexual relationship with him at 14? Was she in constant contact “guiding him” through media? Two completely different situations no comparison,” responded another user.
And a third follower commented: “Liam was 23 or 24 when he and Cheryl got together. They were public about their relationship and he is the father of her child. Its not the same at all.”
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