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Cheryl's tragic drugs 'curse' from homeless brother and late pal to ex before Liam Payne

Former Girls Aloud singer Cheryl has faced years of heartache from trying to help her estranged brother to Liam Payne's sudden death that left her son without a father

[Cheryl Tweedy has spoken candidly on her loved ones' addiction struggles]

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Cheryl Tweedy has spoken candidly on her loved ones' addiction struggles(Image: PA)

Cheryl Tweedy has faced devastating heartache throughout her life, with many of her loved onces grappling with addiction.

Most recently, her older brother Andrew Tweedy was seen begging on the streets despite the singer making attempts to help him get clean.

Andrew was reportedly in court last month for being drunk and disorderly outside Morrisons in Jarrow, South Tyneside. He was in and out of prison throughout her life, something that she spoke candidly about in her 2012 autobiography.

But Cherly's brother is not the only person in her life who has struggled with substance abuse. From her son Bear's father Liam Payne to her childhood friend, we take a look back at some of the sad struggles Cheryl has gone through over the years.

Liam Payne

[Liam Payne and Cheryl]

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Liam Payne and Cheryl met when he auditioned at the X-Factor(Image: Getty Images)

The 31 year old singer, who shot to stardom with One Direction, died in October 2024 after plunging from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires' Palermo district, where he had been on holiday with girlfriend Kate Cassidy.

For Cheryl, it marked another chapter of profound personal tragedy. She released a statement calling Liam's death an "earth-shattering" event and an "indescribably painful time". Posting to Instagram on October 18, 2024, she spoke about her grief and urged the media to provide "dignity" for Liam, focusing on the impact on their then seven-year-old son Bear.

Liam struggled with severe addiction, including alcoholism and drug use, which intensified after One Direction's hiatus. He documented his journey to sobriety, including a 100-day rehab stay in 2023.

Substances like "pink cocaine" and prescription drugs found in his system upon his death in October 2024. Liam himself once said, "You have a few drinks, and you can forget about your problems for a minute".

Shortly after Bear turned one, Cheryl and Liam parted ways but they continued a healthy co-parenting arrangement. In a 2018 chat with The Sunday Times' Style magazine, Cheryl revealed that the former One Direction member was "the only man who has ever been faithful" to her, and that she had found the "man of her dreams" in Bear.

Liam similarly spoke warmly of his former partner, hailing her as "the best mum in the world" while appearing on Logan Paul's podcast Impulsive, where he noted he "couldn't ask for someone better". He continued: "The relationship we have now as friends has only grown more."

Speaking to the Mail Online in 2019, Cheryl revealed: "There's no animosity whatsoever. We are learning all the time. And it's good, it's healthy. We're just like any other couple that have gone through this, but we have a few more eyes watching us... just a few."

Sibling struggles

[Andrew Tweedy with sister Cheryl at a family wedding]

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Andrew Tweedy with sister Cheryl at a family wedding(Image: Tom Buist)

[Garry Tweedy and Cheryl]

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Cheryl with her other brother Garry Tweedy(Image: Twitter)

In her 2012 autobiography My Story, Cheryl wrote about her brother Andrew Tweedy, whose drug and alcohol addiction spiralled out of control after he learned that the man he'd believed to be his father was not in fact his biological dad.

According to Cheryl, Andrew's behaviour quickly got out of control, and saw him going from sniffing glue to landing himself behind bars while still a teenager. Cheryl recounted: "When Andrew was 15 he stabbed someone in a fight. Everyone was in pieces. People were talking about prison, and I was lying awake again, worrying myself sick. He got six years and was locked up."

And although Cheryl had hoped that serving a prison sentence would prompt Andrew to change his path in life, this unfortunately wasn't to be. She continued: "When Andrew left prison I assumed being locked up would have taught him a lesson and that hed put his criminal past behind him and start a new life. Unfortunately by the time of my wedding, he was in prison again. And to be honest I didn't want to know the details of his latest offence."

Before her 2006 wedding to footballer Ashley Cole, Cheryl went to visit her brother in prison - issuing a desperate plea. She recalled: "'Why can't you stop?' I begged him. 'You're devastating the whole family. Why can't you change your ways?' He shrugged and looked me in the face. 'I'm too far gone'. I left in floods of tears.

"He had 50 convictions by now, and was addicted to alcohol and drugs, as he was to crime. His life was bleak and hopeless. But I still dared to hope he might want to reform one day."

Cheryl even offered her sibling 20,000 to go to rehab - a sum which he reportedly refused. In August 2021, it was revealed that Andrew was by that point living on the streets with a friend and a Staffordshire Bull Terrier dog named Razor.

An insider told Heat magazine at the time: "Cheryl was obviously knocked sideways by the stories about her brother. It left her reeling on a lot of levels. She'll always carry around those guilty feelings about Andrew. No matter what anyone says about his addiction, she'll always wonder if things would have worked if she had tried harder with him, offered him even more than she did, if she could have saved him."

Childhood friend

Tragedy also struck when Cheryl's childhood friend John Courtney died of a heroin overdose in 2005. His family released a photo of the 21 year old as a stark warning to others about the dangers of drug use.

Reflecting on her devastating loss, Cheryl said: "It put me off drugs for life. That nightmare devastated all John's family and friends."

Ex with drug problem

[Cheryl Cole]

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Cheryl Cole's ex boyfriend Jason Mack(Image: Sunday Mirror)

Prior to finding fame as part of Girls Aloud, Cheryl is believed to have dated furniture dealer Jason Mack between 2000 and 2002. Their turbulent relationship is thought to have served as the inspiration for her 2012 track Craziest Things.

At the time, Cheryl said that the track drew from the "worst relationship" of her life, with revealing lyrics including 'We say the craziest things like I love you, hate you, don't need you, f*** you'.

In conversation with the Mirror back then, Jason acknowledged the romance fell apart when Cheryl discovered his addiction and issued an ultimatum - the drugs or her. The pair eventually separated in 2002, merely one month before Cheryl's life-changing Popstars: The Rivals audition.

Jason said: "When I first met Cheryl I was doing a lot of cocaine. I'd blow 200 on the stuff. But she'd sit with me for hours to talk me out of getting drugs. I found it hard to live like that. Cheryl stuck by us when I didn't have a penny. But I started taking heroin because I wasn't getting any further forward."

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