Liam Payne and Cheryl Fernandez-Versini: It's the real deal, say Wolverhampton One Direction star's pals
Lying shirtless on a bed and captioned simply 'Happy', this is the picture that Liam Payne has apparently used to confirm his romance with Cheryl Fernandez-Versini.
News broke over the weekend that the Wolverhampton star, 22, was in a relationship with the X Factor judge, who is 10 years his senior.
Liam appeared to confirm they were an item by posting a picture of them together on his Instagram account, which has almost nine million followers.
Former Girls Aloud star Cheryl waves a 'peace' sign, but that has not been enough to prevent her from notorious online trolls, who have poured bucketloads of scorn on the Geordie star. The singer is going through a divorce from her second husband Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini, 35.
But it is reported she and Liam shared a Valentine's Day holiday in the Maldives.
X Factor mogul Simon Cowell is said to have played 'cupid' and encouraged the pair to get together. A pal of the couple said: "Their relationship developed very quickly in December after the X Factor final where 1D gave their final performance before starting a hiatus. Liam is madly in love. This is the real deal."
Showbiz insiders say Liam's recent 'rose' tattoo on his hand was a nod to his new girlfriend's infamous floral inking that covers her entire behind. Former Wolverhampton College student Liam rose to fame as part of X Factor's One Direction but first appeared on the show aged 14, when Cheryl, then a 24-year-old judge, told him: "I think you're really cute."
Liam split with Sophia Smith, who he had known since his schooldays, last October after two years of dating.
Coral has offered odds of 6-1 that the couple will get engaged in 2016, and odds of 2-1 that they perform a duet before the end of the year. The chances of Cheryl being spotted in a Bushbury pub are less likely, with no odds offered.
