Cheryl Fernandez-Versini and Liam Payne 'confirm' relationship

The One Direction star and Geordie singer have sparked controversy with their 10-year age difference

It looks like Liam Payne and Cheryl Fernandez-Versini have confirmed their relationship as they stepped out in public together for the first time since the news of their romance broke.

At 32, Girls Aloud singer Cheryl is 10 years older than 22-year-old Liam Payne, but that doesn't seem to worry either of them, as they wore ear-to-ear smiles on their date in Central London, where they were snapped holding hands. The pair have previously posted a series of snaps between them on their social media accounts, which have kept fans guessing as to their relationship status.

It looks like this first public outing could also have been Liam's first big introduction to his potential future mother in law. Cheryl's mum Joan Callaghan joined the pair for their romantic dinner and was snapped leaving the fancy Mayfair restaurant just a few minutes after Liam and Cheryl, who hopped in a car together.

As another nod to their feelings for each other Cheryl wore a large gold necklace over her sleek black jumpsuit that spelled out 'love', just in case there was any doubt that her relationship was serious.

Liam, who has been more vocal about his feelings for Cheryl in public than she has, posted a snap to his Instagram account on Tuesday, making it clear how loved up he is. The One Direction singer wrote, 'Happy #internationalwomensday to my favourite woman in the world hope I make you as happy as u make me X.' alongside a picture of pretty Cheryl.

[Instagram]

A photo posted by on

Despite plenty of well wishers the pair have also had their fair share of criticism for their relationship, with many thinking the age gap is too big. Liam's very own ex girlfriend even branded the couple as 'weird' while speaking in an interview for Now magazine. Liam's former childhood sweetheart Sophia, who went out with the pop star for two years, said: 'It's SO weird. I knew about them a little bit ago, but who thought it would actually come out?'

And as you can imagine there are plenty of teenage broken hearts, with One Direction fans lamenting the loss of their Liam to older women Cheryl. On one photo Liam posted of him and Cheryl there were plenty of comments branding the 32-year-old beauty a 'grandma'.

The news first broke of their romance a few weeks back when Liam changed his Instagram display picture to one of him and Cheryl, which sparked rumours flying everywhere. However, it is now thought the pair started dating back in the Autumn of 2015, just a few weeks after Cheryl's alleged split from French restaurateur Jean-Bernard in the August.

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Rosie Conroy
Food Writer

Rosie is an experienced food and drinks journalist who has spent over a decade writing about restaurants, cookery, and foodie products. Previously Content Editor at Goodto.com and Digital Food Editor on Woman&Home, Rosie is well used to covering everything from food news through to taste tests. Now, as well as heading up the team at SquareMeal - the UK's leading guide to restaurants and bars - she also runs a wedding floristry business in Scotland called Lavender and Rose.