Hiatus Direction 2016: Secret Love Song #2 Cheriam

[cujoy]

Here we are in Part 2 of my recap of Hiatus Direction:  covering the month of February 2016.  Here is a recap of the recap so far:

Hiatus Direction 2016 - Preamble: Birth Love and Death
Hiatus Direction 2016 - January Part 1 - Freddie Reign
Hiatus Direction 2016 - January Part 2 - Into the Wilderness
Hiatus Direction 2016 - February Part 1 - Secret Love Song #1 Louelle

Hiatus Direction 2016:  SECRET LOVE SONG #2 Cheriam

Let's continue with the recap of February aka the month of love.  But we shall shift the focus from Louis to Liam.  And this part is going to be a long one!  Because Liam, had a secret, and it was a blockbuster.

Back in December, it had seemed that Liam was planning a low key Hiatus, one that involved spending a lot of time with his dogs, and which didn't involve making solo music.  But January had muddled that impression.  He had posted a song snippet, appeared on social media with Juicy J and had spent the month globe trotting between London and Los Angeles.  What could be going on with Liam?  

Was it possible that he had been trying to tell us something all along?

 Maybe in retrospect the first clue was Liam's mysterious mid February vacation to the Maldives.  During that trip, he had posted a photo of a rose with a caption indicating he had a "baby" and wishing his Baby happy Valentines Day.   So, who was his baby?   It was certainly a puzzle, and he had the fandom's attention.  


 <-- Also, what was up with Liam and the roses?  First the tattoo on his hand, and now this picture...  


Whatever the case was, Liam arrived alone back in Los Angeles  on Feb 19 looking gloriously happy.  Not at all like a man who was spending his time sulking with his great dane...

 <--- Yet another one of my favorite Liam Airport pappings.  Such a secretive little smile he had.  The Fandom knew he had been to the Maldives because of a fan sighting at the airport there.  But the vacation did seem quite random...  


Anyway, this brings us back to the night of the Britt Awards on Feb 22 in London - and Lilo's joint appearance.   I talked about Lilo at the Britts in the last entry, and here it is again!  But this time, with added drama, because Liam's Big Secret was about to drop.


<--- Lilo's beautiful Britt Reunion
Portrait.  Nope, still not the Secret Love Song that everyone would wish ;)    But Love was never-the-less in the air.  

<--- More lovely pictures of our boys from the Britts because why not!






Earlier in the evening, before arriving at the Awards, Liam posted a shirtless selfie to his Instagram while getting ready for the show:

<--- Lordy the boy had gotten in shape since the Hiatus began.  


Perhaps that was a distraction for the fans, because Liam had some other social media activity that evening.  Specifically, he liked a photo that Cheryl Fernandez-Versini,  Popstar and X-Factor Judge, posted of herself also getting ready to attend the event.  In fact, the two of them conducted a short social media conversation involving multiple heart eyed emojis.


<--- In the age of social media, this was essentially an unofficial announcement that 22 year old Liam and 32 year old Cheryl were dating.


Here is Cheryl on the Red Carpet that night, looking banging hot!


 <--- Recognize her yet?



If not, here's a little picture to jog your memory...(I told you those photos from the Last Night on the X-Factor were important LOL.)

<---  This is the full image.  Because there is Cheryl, right in the middle of the picture with...


<--- Liam's arm around her.  Ah ha!  



So, who is Cheryl anyway?   Perhaps before going any further we should get to know her a little bit more.

***

A Short History of Cheryl Tweedy/Cole/Fernandez-Versini

Cheryl was born in Newcastle in the north of England to a working class family very similar to the Payne family.  And like Liam, she first came to fame by auditioning on a TV talent show in 2002 called Popstars: The Rivals.  From that, she ended up becoming a member of a very successful girl band called Girl's Aloud.  

<--- That's Cheryl in the middle of this early Girls Aloud photoshoot, 2002.


<--- The glitzier later days
They are actually one of the most successful girl groups of all time.  Everywhere except that is, the U.S. where they are comparatively obscure.

After Girls Aloud went on Hiatus in 2009 Cheryl began a very successful solo career in the UK including three number one albums.  She is one of the most successful solo female artists ever in the UK.  

Other key events:

*In 2003 Cheryl was arrested for assaulting a lavatory attendant.  She was eventually convicted and served 120 hours of community service.  She was acquitted of a charge that the assault was racially motivated. Cheryl was 19 at the time, and has had no repetition of such an incident.

*Cheryl met footballer Ashley Cole in 2004 and married him two years later.  The marriage was tumultuous and Ashley reportedly cheated on Cheryl numerous times. The entire relationship was tabloid fodder all the way until it's end in 2010.

*Cheryl married French businessman Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini in 2014 after dating him for only three months.  That marriage was apparently essentially over by Oct, 2015.  Which was the same timeframe as Liam's unexpected breakup with Sophia Smith towards the end of 1D's last tour.

*Cheryl is a spokeswoman for L'Oreal Cosmetics and has been twice voted the most beautiful woman in the world by FMH

<---  The photo that got Cheryl voted most beautiful woman in the world.

So, in short, even though she is relatively obscure in the U.S., Cheryl is a big deal in the UK.  She is a media tabloid darling and has been in the spotlight for a decade and a half.

***

Here Comes The SUN



In the wake of the Britts, rumours about this new possible couple were flying fast and furious.  The fandom was NOT PLEASED and instantly jumped to their old standby - calling the rumored relationship "PR", a "Sham" and spinning stories that is was all just for "Promo".  The comments on Cheryl's Twitter and Instagram blew up with repeated use of the words "Grandma" and "Ziam". 

But nothing is official without a confirmation.  So the fandom waited for the other shoe to drop.  Would a confirmation come?

And it did on Feb 26, straight from Dan Wooton, the Sun columnist who so frequently gets the scope of 1D Members - The Sun dropped the official "Revelation"

<--- The Sun cover In all it's lurid glory.

The fandom was NOT amused. 

And the tabloid coverage was relentless.  And it was all made infinitly worse by the emphasis on Cheryl's age, 10 years older than Liam, and her role as an X-Factor judge, which essentially placed her in a mentor role to young Liam going all the way back to 2008 when  Liam was only 14 years old.  The fact that the couple's first meeting literally took place on camera when one of them was a minor, made the whole thing much worse as well.  The image of the cheeky 14 year old Liam flirting with the 24 year old Cheryl who was already in full pop star/X-Factor judge mode are easy to sensationalize. 

Still, the photos and videos of that meeting were published everywhere and they are, and always will be cringe inducing: 

<--- A GIF of Liam and Cheryl's first meeting.  He was a flirty kid, and she appears to be amused by his flirting.  Well, at least he's the one who did the winking.  But the fandom will NEVER forgive her for this.  Ever.

It is important to keep in perspective Liam and Cheryl were, in fact, both adults in 2016 with a history of a friendship and working relationship that included a song collaboration that appeared on her most recent album.  There is evidence of that working friendship going back to 2014 when she nominated him for the Ice Bucket Challenge.

*****

One more aside about the Sun Article - it gave a possible explanation for Liam's obsession with roses.

<--- The tattoo in question.


<---  Cheryl has a giant tattoo of roses all over her ass, and her lower back.  The Sun article said that Liam's new hand tattoo was a tribute to this large tattoo.   Liam obviously likes those roses a lot.  ;)

***

On the same day that the news broke Feb 26,  Liam did a Pap Walk outside of Sony's HQ in London.  He continued to look gloriously happy:

<--- This is also one of my favorite Liam Pap Walks of all time.  And as this appearance was outside Sony HQ, it seemed to be yet another hint that Liam might make the plunge into solo music afterall.

On the last day of the month, Liam changed his Instagram profile picture to a shirtless picture of himself, with Cheryl in his arms.  It didn't last long because of the brutal hate he got from jealous 1D fans calling Cheryl "grandma" and/or referencing  "Ziam".  

He replaced the photo with a selfie of just himself after only a few days.  But he added the word "Happy" to his Instagram profile. And it that word has remained their ever since.

 <--- the photo in question.

Liam and Cheryl would spend the next month trying to acclimate the fandom to their new relationship.  The fandom remained unkind, but this relationship would continue to be in the public eye for the rest of the year.

Stay tuned.  So very much more to come.

The next segment will move forward to Spring, and the year in review will continue.