Cher Lloyd and Cheryl were best buds when the Girls Aloud star became the then 16-year-old wannabe popstar's mentor.
Cheryl, 38, was wowed with the plucky teen's swag as she strolled onto the stage in 2010 channelling her inner Soulja Boy.
After the Geordie star told the Malvern-born singer, now 28, she was "right up her street", the pint-sized pair seemed the perfect match.
But then things got ugly.
'Most hated teen' in Britain
After making it through to the live shows, Cher earned herself an unenviable moniker after being accused of throwing strops backstage of The X Factor.
She was already on thin ice after Cheryl chose her ahead of Gamu Nghengu to go through to Boot Camp.
There were reports the teen refused to wear the shoes the wardrobe department had provided for her and she ended up performing in Cheryl's heels.
Speaking about the episode at the time she said: "I had a bit of a meltdown earlier in the week. But I just couldn't go on stage in something I felt uncomfortable in.'
Mentor Louis Walsh branded Cher "too big for her boots" and she was soon branded the "most hated teen" in Britain.
Meanwhile Cheryl started to distance herself from her protégée.
Elimination
Cher was eliminated in the first round of the finals and went on to accuse Cheryl of abandoning her.
The teen found herself in the bottom two with Matt Cardle after she partnered with Black Eyed Peas' wil-i.am for I Gotta Feeling and Where Is the Love?
Speaking about her mentor's aftercare, Cher quipped: "I didn't have her mobile number to begin with.
"I've got more chance of winning the lottery than catching up with her."
Insults
Having dusted herself off from her X Factor exit, Cher released her hit single Swagger Jagger in 2011.
However when asked if she'd duet with Cheryl, she implied the Girls Aloud star used auto-tune and challenged her mentor to sing live with her.
Speaking on the Real Breakfast for Real Radio North West show about the possibility, Cher quipped: "Maybe if she sings live with me!"
She was then asked if the Geordie would find it difficult sing live to which the teen replied: "Well it is nowadays, when you haven’t got the nifty little button to press!"
When the presenter asked Cher if she meant that Cheryl was relying on auto-tune, she laughed: "What, oh no? Never, never ever!"
Needless to say, the mum-of-one was not impressed and took to Twitter raging: "Be Careful who you kick on your way up .. They kick you twice as hard on your way back down.. #unappreciationisugly."
Cher later apologised for her comments, insisting their was no malice behind them.
She told ITV's Daybreak: "Basically I said something on radio that I shouldn't have said and it wasn't intended to sound as bad as it did.
"All I was saying was that I would love to perform with her live and then I made a little joke... I want to say sorry to her if she found that offensive.'
"At the end of the day, she was the person who got me where I am today. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be where I was."
No contact
Despite Cher telling Loose Women she'd 'buried the hatchet' with Cheryl in 2016, she admitted to ITV's Lorraine in 2020 the two don't speak.
The mum-of-one, who gave birth to her daughter Delilah-Rae in 2018, said: "I haven’t heard from her in a long time, she’s so busy with the baby. She’s got baby," referring to Cheryl's three-year-old son Bear.
As for her reputation, Cher says she understands why the public turned against her.
"Looking back I can see why people thought I was a nightmare and I'm totally embarrassed," she told the Guardian in 2020.
"That's one of the hardest things for me to deal with because that's my past and you've sort of got to look at it as a huge learning experience.
"It's literally like taking your trousers down and doing a p**s in front of the world."
Cher admits she had to do "damage control" and to some extent is still doing it, but concluded: "I’m mother to a little girl. I’ve released two albums and I’ve got a top 10 hit in America.
"I’m not ‘the most hated teen’.
"We’ve moved on!"
