Former ‘X Factor’ judge Cheryl has finally been granted a divorce from her estranged husband Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini, more than a year after they effectively split up, leaving the singer free to move on in her new relationship with Liam Payne.

The 33 year old former Girls Aloud star, and solo hitmaker in her own right, was granted a decree nisi at the Central Family Court in London on Thursday morning (October 20th), in a court session that lasted a matter of seconds. Neither party was in attendance.

Cheryl Liam PayneSince separating from Jean-Bernard, Cheryl has been dating 1D's Liam Payne

A statement given to MailOnline shortly afterwards read: “Cheryl Fernandez-Versini and Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini have today obtained decree nisi in their divorce proceedings. No further comment will be made and they ask for their privacy to be respected.”

Cheryl – who is free to legally change her name back to Tweedy, presumably – married French restaurateur Jean-Bernard in July 2014 in a secret ceremony after a three-month courtship.

However, their marriage quickly disintegrated as sources close to the couple admitted that, aside from their busy schedules that didn’t allow them to spend much time together, the language barrier was an insurmountable problem.

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“Cheryl can't speak French. I'm told he speaks little English,” an insider to the relationship said at the time. “What sort of relationship is it if she cannot speak French and he can't speak English? They may as well have a threesome with the interpreter.”

She reportedly will keep all of her reputed £20 million fortune intact, and won’t be making any payments to Jean-Bernard.

“This has been the result of months of negotiations, but Cheryl and JB reached an agreement two months ago,” a source told Now magazine the night before the court hearing, “and there has been no financial settlement. Lots of wild figures have been thrown about, but that is the truth, as the documents will show.”

Cheryl quit ‘The X Factor’ at the beginning of this year, since when she has started a new relationship with One Direction’s Liam Payne, ten years her junior. Furthermore, she’s widely reported to be expecting a baby with him, but none of that speculation has been confirmed or denied.

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