Liam Payne and girlfriend Cheryl Cole are calling it quits – one day after Cole’s 35th birthday.
Payne, 24, and Cole posted nearly identical messages on Twitter on Sunday announcing their breakup after dating for two years. The British couple share one son together, Bear, who was born in March 2017.
“We are sad to announce that we are going our separate ways,” read Cole’s message. “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 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,” posted Liam.
The pair both owe their fame to pop groups started through singing contests. Cole rose to fame in Girls Aloud in the early 2000s after winning a spot on the show Popstars: The Rivals, while Payne joined One Direction in 2008 after a second stint on The X Factor.
In recent months, rumors began to swirl about trouble in their relationship, despite Payne gushing about Cole in a March interview in U.K.’s Rollacoaster magazine that she has been his “dream girl since I was younger.”
“We’re super happy. It’s a very personal, precious time for us,” Payne said at the time. “I’m still learning. I’m only 23.”
Just five days later, he admitted in the U.K.’s Evening Standard that they definitely had their share of problems, but said they weren’t about to break up. And about a week after that, Cole took to Twitter to dismiss rumors of Payne cheating with a dancer from his tour. (ET)
