Cher Lloyd has said she and Craig Monk have separated after 13 years of marriage, ending a relationship that began after her rise on The X Factor. The singer was drawn into breakup speculation after posting a photo without her wedding ring, then answered a follower that it was "in the bin."
Cher Lloyd on the ring
The line was blunt, and it did the job. Lloyd used it to shut down the guessing around a hand that fans had already been studying for clues, turning a social media detail into a public endnote on the marriage.
She and Monk first crossed paths in 2011, became engaged in 2012 and married in 2013. They have two daughters, Delilah-Rae and Eliza Violet, which makes the split a family change as much as a relationship one.
2014 Metro interview
Lloyd had already described how the pair met in a 2014 Metro interview, saying, "It's embarrassing how we met when I think about it." She added, "I went to a hair salon to get my hair done just after I got off The X Factor."
She went on: "I wanted to go for a cigarette, but I couldn't go out the front because it was swimming with paparazzi. He was the only one who could take me out the back. So that's where I met him." That account now reads like the opening chapter of a relationship that lasted more than a decade before ending in a single social media exchange.
Darren and the split
The breakup lands during a difficult period for Lloyd, who said her father Darren died earlier this year. In an online tribute, she wrote, "I love you, dad. More than you'll ever know," and he replied, "I know you do. And I love you more and more each day. See you tomorrow."
During the COVID-19 pandemic, she also said Darren had been hospitalized and was battling serious health issues, adding, "I wish I could see him and I wish I could be with my family to support them, especially mum," The marriage news now sits alongside that loss, and the only immediate takeaway for Lloyd is simple: she has already told followers the ring is gone, and the relationship is over.
