Liam and Cheryl continued to pretend they were together for five months after split

It was the surprising celeb relationship we all got behind, but it couldn't last.

Liam Payne and Cheryl began dating in early 2016, having crossed paths eight years  earlier when he auditioned in front of her for X Factor. It was a whirlwind romance despite their almost ten-year age gap and in March 2017 they became parents to son Bear. The couple were seen together less and less frequently after the birth of their child and in July of 2018, they publicly announced that they were going their separate ways. "It's been a tough decision for us to make. We still have so much love for each other as a family," the said in a statement at the time. But now Liam has revealed that they'd called things off months before they shared the news. The split actually happened around the time his single with Rita Ora, For You, was released in January 2018, he told Jessie Ware's podcast Table Manners. This means that they were no longer an item when they walked the red carpet together at the Brit Awards in February 2018. They struggled to have a normal relationship, Liam continued, over being recognised when out together.

"I think we kind of rubbed off on each other a little bit in that way. In a bad way, actually. All of that stuff puts so much ­pressure on a relationship," he said. "For her, if you were going out somewhere, it would take so long to get out of the door because you’re just so worried."