David Fisher/REX/ShutterstockUPDATE: Well, it looks as though the hashtag #CongratsLiam was really onto something! Photos surfaced today of Liam Payne and girlfriend Cheryl Cole and all eyes were on the brunette beauty's sweater, which did all but confirm the exciting news that she is expecting her first child with the One Direction singer.
In fact, a source told E! News that Cheryl is currently in her second trimester. Neither star has ever engaged with the rampant speculation or responded to official requests for comment.
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Did you happen to catch #CongratsLiam trending on Twitter earlier this week?
The hashtag coincided with the announcement of One Direction singer Liam's solo U.S. record deal. But as many fans were quick to note, #CongratsLiam could be popping on social media again soon if there's any truth to the rumors that he and Cheryl are expecting a baby! (Cheryl's rep has declined to comment on the pregnancy speculation.)
It all started last month photos of Cheryl's mother buying "pregnancy goods" appeared in The Sun. According to the British tabloid, Joan Callaghan purchased a pregnancy pillow and a wedge to support a baby bump in a Mothercare store. Although this sighting certainly got the Twitterverse talking,a source pointed out to The Sun that Joan's "other children have lots of kids"—so she wasn't necessarily shopping for Cheryl.
It wasn't long after this sighting that Cheryl, 33, and Liam, 23, were photographed on a date night in London. The svelte singer wore a loose-fitting knit dress paired with an oversized coat, leading some fans to wonder if she could be concealing a baby bump.
Then there were the comments from Cheryl's former Girls Aloud bandmate. "She's really happy right now," Kimberly Walsh told the Sunday People of Cheryl. "And she'll be a brilliant mum. She has loads of nieces and nephews, so she's used to the madness of children."
Kimberley added that Cheryl and another former Girls Aloud star, Nicola Roberts, are both "naturally good with kids."
Again, though, neither Cheryl nor Liam have weighed in on the rumors themselves. Sometime last month, Liam did update his Twitter bio to read, "the luckiest man in the world." Could have been referring to the record deal he would be announcing in just a few weeks? Quite possibly, but as fans noted, there's a chance he was alluding to future fatherhood.
On Wednesday, the singer and Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini, her husband of 18 months, received the decree nisi that officially terminates their marriage.
(Originally published on Thursday, October 20, 2016 at 12:34 p.m. PT)