Why Cheryl changed her name as star makes 'final vow' to Liam Payne at funeral

5 hours ago 1

Cheryl has changed her name more than once over the years.

The 41-year-old singer bid a final farewell to her ex Liam Payne at his funeral in the Home Counties on Wednesday (November 20). Liam tragically died after falling from his hotel balcony in Buenos Aires on October 16.

Cheryl, who shares her seven-year-old son Bear with Liam, joined lots of other famous faces at the service, including Liam's One Direction bandmates Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson. The Girls Aloud star is said to have made a heartbreaking final vow to the singer - a promise that Bear will never forget his father.

READ MORE: Liam Payne funeral updates as stars gather including One Direction bandmates

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Friends of the singer told the news outlet that Cheryl is "dreadfully sad". They added: "She has her own grief, but she also has a little boy who won't see his daddy again, and that is just heartbreaking." The insider said that while Cheryl and Liam split in 2018, they "bonded" over their mutual love for their son.

Cheryl wearing dark sunglasses and jacket at Liam Payne funeral

Cheryl appeared at Liam's funeral this week

These days, she simply goes under her first name Cheryl as a mononym. But fans will have noticed that the pop star has changed her surname more than once during her career.

She was born Cheryl Ann Tweedy and grew up on council estates in Newcastle upon Newcastle upon Tyne. She originally changed her name to Cheryl Cole when she married ex-Chelsea footballer Ashley Cole in 2006.

Cheryl addressed questions as to why she hadn't dropped Cole from her name in light of the divorce. She told The Times: "That feels like the old me. Old, old me. That would be like going backwards another stage, and why would I do that? And it doesn't feel like his name."

Cheryl described Liam as a "great dad"

But in 2010, the marriage fell apart Cheryl announced she'd split from the footballer and filed for divorce, citing 'unreasonable behaviour'. She didn't immediately drop Cole from her name and decided to keep it for several years.

However, she decided to ditch the surname when she got married again to Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini in 2014. Sadly, this marriage would be short lived as the pair separated in December 2015, after just 18 months, filing for divorce.

Cheryl and Liam Payne

Cheryl and Liam split in 2018

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It was then that Cheryl struck up a romance with Liam, whom she first met on X Factor when he was a teen and she was a judge. The pair started dating in 2016 and welcomed son Bear a year later.

The couple never married, and after the break up with Liam, Cheryl decided to legally change her name back to Tweedy. However, she's still using Cheryl as her stage name.

Cheryl said Liam was a "great dad" in a heartbreaking resurfaced interview about their relationship. "Liam is a great dad. He's much softer than me," she told The Telegraph.

She also admitted she was the "strict" parent, while Liam was more lenient with Bear, who she said is well-behaved. She added: "I'm the strict one; Liam isn't. I'll be the one saying, 'Just one square of chocolate,' but Bear is so good.

"If I get cross with him he puts his little hands on my face and looks into my eyes to see if I'm deadly serious or a tiny bit cross, and it melts my heart,"

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