Former X-Factor contestant Cher Lloyd has married her fiance of 9-months, hairdresser Craig Monk. Lloyd - who finished fourth on The X-Factor in 2010 - surprised her fans by uploading a wedding snap on Instagram. Her spokesman confirmed the news to MailOnline, saying, "Cher and Craig are married but all other details are private."

Cher LloydCher Lloyd has married her finace Craig Monk.

The singer, 20, wore a white strapless lace gown and simple necklace, with veil and bouquet of roses. Speaking on Twitter, the pop-star told fans, "Thank you for all your lovely messages !! I'm so happy!!! (: xxx"

One of those messages came from her former mentor Cheryl Cole, who wrote, "Wow!! Heard your good news. Congratulations @CherLloyd I hope you have many more happy years and memories to come. Cheryl x".

Cher and Cheryl haven't always enjoyed the easiest of relationships. According to Yahoo, the X-Factor contestant joked on national radio that Cole would struggle to sing live without "a nifty little button to press," referring to auto-tune. The Girls Aloud singer appeared to cryptically hit back, tweeting, "Be Careful who you kick on your way up. They kick you twice as hard on your way back down. #unappreciationisugly"

Lloyd went on to apologise, saying the comments were 'just a little joke' though Cole told GQ that the remarks were a "slap in the face," saying, "She's new. She needs to learn a lot. I went through hell to get her on that programme. Everyone says stuff at the beginning of their career that they will learn to regret."

Lloyd, from Malvern, Worcestershire, signed to Simon Cowell's Syco record label after her stint on The X Factor. She topped the singles chart with debut track Swagger Jagger and reached No.4 with her album Sticks + Stones, however, she managed No.9 in the notoriously hard-to-crack US chart. Her second album Sorry I'm Late is being readied for a 2014 release.

During an interview with Larry King, Lloyd revealed that she had left Syco after a disagreement with Simon Cowell and had signed with L.A Reid in the U.S.

"I think as an artist you try and protect the people within the company you're with. Unfortunately, I'm not like that," she explained, adding, "My album got pushed back and I'm not happy about it. It's all done, but I am currently in the studio for the rest of this week to try and find some more magic.

"It was meant to be coming out in November. Now I think it's going to be early next year."