Liam Payne And Cheryl Cole Announce Split, Call It A ‘Tough Decision’

One Direction's Liam Payne, 24, and British pop superstar Cheryl Cole, 34, announced splitting after being together for more than two years.

“We 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,” the couple announced on Twitter.

The couple has a son named Bear who was born in March last year.

"Bear is our world and we ask that you respect his privacy as we navigate our way through this together,” the couple announced.

In March this year, Payne admitted to having struggles in their relationship.

“You know, we have our struggles — like, of course I’m not gonna sit here and say that everything’s absolutely fine and dandy, because of course you go through different things, and that’s what a relationship is. But we go through them together as a family and that’s the most important thing for me,” he said in an interview with the Evening Standard.

While some tabloids suggested the age difference of 10 years between the two had become an issue, others claimed that his solo career was creating a problem.

"Having someone else who's so high-profile in the media pushes everything that I do to another level and I think it's weird," he said, BBC reported.

In February, the two made an appearance at the Brits amid rumors of their relationship hitting the rocks.

"No one cares who's been speculatively arguing or not in their relationships, use your platform to put something productive in your columns,” Cole posted on Twitter in response to a daily that called their appearance a "stunt."

"Perhaps if your friends and staff spoke less about the details of your love life, less would be written." the newspaper's showbiz columnist, Dan Wootton posted in response.

In March 2017, Cole posted a photo Payne cuddling their newborn.

"We are all madly in love and overwhelmingly happy with our little arrival,” she captioned the photo.

“She is a wonderful, wonderful person and it’s amazing to have someone who can relate to so much of things — someone who’s taken greater steps than me,” Payne said in an interview to Rollacoaster magazine adding she was his dream girl since he was younger.

Both of them rose to fame through singing reality shows. Cole was part of the show “Popstars: The Rivals” in the early 2000’s and went on to judge “The X Factor” in which Payne was a participant.

"When I auditioned for X factor 10 years ago I had a hole in my George Asda shoes, borrowed Armandi jeans from a friend just a 14 year old boy with big dreams ... crazy what ten years can do... thank you,” Payne posted, hours before his split on Sunday.

The two got into a relationship after her divorce from French restaurateur Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini in 2016.