Cheryl Cole and and Liam Payne CONFIRM split – read their sad statement in full

Cheryl and Liam Payne at BRIT Awards, 21 February 2018

Cheryl Cole has SPLIT from boyfriend Liam Payne after two and a half years with the former One Direction star.

The pop star confirmed the sad news in a statement released on Twitter late Sunday night.

Posting on the social media platform, Cheryl wrote: “We are sad to announce that we are going our separate ways. Its been a tough decision for us to make. We still have so much love for each other as a family.”

The star also mentioned the pairs one-year-old son, saying: “Bear is our world and we ask that you respect his privacy as we navigate our way through this together.”

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. Bear is our world and we ask that you respect his privacy as we navigate our way through this together.

— Cheryl (@CherylOfficial) July 1, 2018

Cheryl shared the shock tweet with her 6.4m followers at 10.45pm on Sunday night, with Liam sharing the exact same statement on his own Twitter account at the same time.

Cheryl and I 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. Bear is our world and we ask that you respect his privacy as we navigate our way through this together.

— Liam (@LiamPayne) July 1, 2018

According to The Sun, the split happened two weeks ago and Liam has now moved out of their £5m Surrey home.

A source told the publication: “Cheryl and Liam worked really hard on their relationship – they had troubles earlier this year and were able to get through them.

“But theyre in different stages of their lives and, after a lot of careful thought, came to a decision that its best for everyone if they do go their separate ways.

“He still cares for her and she cares for him. They still have an ongoing relationship together. They have a baby together.

“Both Cheryl and Liam have successful careers that take a lot of time, which didnt always make things easy. There were ups and downs for a long time.”

The announcement comes just days after Cheryl celebrated her 35th birthday WITHOUT Liam.

The star instead marked the occasion with her close gal pals and former Girls Aloud bandmates Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh.

Cheryl and Liam first got together late in 2015, confirming their relationship with a loved-up selfie in March the following year.

At the time Cheryl was still legally married to her second husband, Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini.

She divorced the French restauranteur in October 2016, just five months before welcoming her and Liams first child, little Bear, in March 2017.

The couple first met on The X Factor back in 2008 when he auditioned for the show, aged just 14, and she was on the judging panel.

Their relationship had been plagued by rumours of a split for some months, but they put on a united front at this years BRIT Awards in February – their last public appearance together.

However it seems that they werent quite able to Fight For This Love, as their sad joint statement shows.

Fans of the couple reacted with shock and sorrow as news of their split rippled across social media.

One devastated fan wrote: “Im not taking this break up very well myself but Ill still love and support you both although you just crushed my only hope of true love still existing.”

Another posted: “Never in a million years did I see this coming. But no matter what, I will always support, love, and respect both of you, as well as baby Bear. You deserve all the happiness that this world has to offer. Each one of you. ”