Skip to content

Cheryl: Pregnancy was a break from 14 years' work

Getty Images Cheryl ColeGetty Images
Cheryl appeared at the Game for Grenfell fundraiser in September

Cheryl has said getting pregnant gave her the first chance to relax since the start of her career.

"I didn't stop for 14 years" she told ITV's Lorraine show, describing her life as a "roller coaster".

The former Girls Aloud singer marked the end of her time off by strutting down the catwalk at Paris Fashion Week earlier this month.

She also recently revealed she would be returning to the X Factor as a guest judge at Simon Cowell's house.

Pregnancy had given her necessary time off, she added in the interview with Cowell, which was shared with The Sun.

The singer, 34, announced the birth of her first child with One Direction star Liam Payne in March, later revealing they had called him Bear.

Her entertainment career started on Popstars: The Rivals in 2002, where she became part of Girls Aloud alongside Kimberley Walsh, Nicola Roberts, Sarah Harding and Nadine Coyle.

She launched a solo career before they disbanded, and went on to become an X Factor judge in 2008.

Getty Images CherylGetty Images
She posed with Helen Mirren and Jane Fonda at the L'Oreal Paris Fashion Week Show

"When I got pregnant I thought, 'right, I just don't need this stress', so I relaxed," she said.

But despite the break from work, she "hated being pregnant" she said. "A lot of stuff went on and I just didn't enjoy it."

Maternity leave was "perfect" and allowed her to "reset the mind-frame".

"I feel actually better coming back, I feel more relaxed. I just feel I've sat into my own skin. I feel so good."

She will now join the show's boss, Simon Cowell, at his home in Nice, France, as a guest X Factor judge to help him narrow down contestants for the ITV programme.

Allow Twitter content?

This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read  and  before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

She first met Payne in 2008 when he auditioned as a solo contestant on X Factor, two years before One Direction formed on the show.

REX/Shutterstock Cheryl and LiamREX/Shutterstock
Cheryl and Liam Payne appeared together at a gala in Paris last year

Asked how they decided on the name for their child, which reportedly took weeks to decide on, Cheryl joked that Bear stood for "unbearable".

She said having a child "changes your life completely but in the most amazing way".

"But I've had the best six months of my life. Really.

"You know, a lot of mothers have to rush back to work and I don't think it's really fair so I'm going to take time, a few more months, until he's a bit more grown," she said.

Presentational grey line

Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected].