Recent reports out of the UK have alleged that the British superstar and teen heart-throb are in a “secret relationship”.
A friend of the duo chatted to The Sun, telling the publication the shock coupling is “the real deal.”
Apparently the 22-year-old has told friends he is “madly in love” with the former Girls Aloud star and he’s got the ink to prove it.
The 32-year-old is well known for her infamous rose tattoos on her bottom, and the 1D singer decided to get a matching one on his hand.
Tatt’s a coincidence: Liam was recently spotted with the same rose tattoo as Cheryl;s infamous derriere ink on his hand.
Cheryl is the midst of a divorce after she ended her whirlwind marriage with her husband of 19 months, Jean-Bernard Fernandez Versini.
It’s believed Liam and the X Factor judge have been dating since last December.
The pair first met five years ago on the reality singing competition when Liam was just 17 years old.
During their time on the show, Cheryl had nothing but kind words for the teen and his band mates, telling viewers, “You are great kids and I love chatting to you backstage, you are good lads, nice lads.”
The pair met all the way back in 2010 on The X Factor and have been mates ever since.
The well-placed pal explained to the British paper that the pair have become closer over the years thanks to their mutual friend, Simon Cowell.
“Cheryl has obviously known Liam for many years.”
Explaining, “They’ve always got on well because they are both northern and share many of the same interests.”
“But there was never anything romantic between them in the past.”
Cheryl and Liam worked together professionally in 2014 after the boy band member remixed the singer’s song, I Don’t Care.
Clearly Cheryl is comfortable with Liam. In 2014 she nominated the Brit to do the ice bucket challenge… which he gladly accepted.
Tweeting the 1D star, Cheryl quipped, “Thanks Payno, I love it,” along with dancing emojis.
The pal explained how their friendship has since blossomed, “Their relationship developed very quickly in December after the X Factor final where One Direction gave their final performance before starting their hiatus.”
While Cheryl has been dealing with the demise of her marriage, Liam has been coping with the split of his band.
The source revealed that despite the difficult months, the smitten stars have been getting through their respective hardships together.
Cheryl and her French hubby, Jean- Bernard, ended things after only 19 months.
“Cheryl is like a different person. She’s carefree and happy again. There’s a lot less stress in her life.”
Before adding, “Liam was really struggling with the idea of life after the band to begin with – being in the spotlight and that level of fame had started to get to him. But he’s been so happy with Cheryl. He’s been telling people close to him that he’s madly in love.”
The musicians might not be ready to go public, but they have no issue airing their relationship out.
Before the pair attended the Brit Awards separately, Liam commented on one of Cheryl’s Instagram snap , saying “see you there babe” followed by a wink emoji.
Time will tell whether the pair decide to go public, but they’ll no doubt have a legion of fans cheering on this poptastic pairing.
Both Cheryl and Liam left after the Brits – opting to not go to any afterparties.
