Inside the rollercoaster life of Cher Lloyd in the years after ‘losing her mind’ on The X Factor

She tried to make it big in the US and was told to seduce Justin Bieber


Cher Lloyd was one of the rising stars of The X Factor, and though she never quite reached the height achieved by the likes of Little Mix and Leona Lewis, I for one was devastated when she stepped back from the limelight.

We were first introduced to Cher way back in 2010 when she featured on season seven alongside One Direction, Matt Cardle, Rebecca Ferguson, and Wagner. Though she ultimately came in fourth place, she is arguably one of the most iconic contestants of all time.

Cher remained in the public eye for a number of years afterwards, releasing tracks such as Swagger Jagger and With Ur Love, but then she somewhat vanished.

In a new interview with Paul Carrick Brunson, Cher recalled how losing her mind on The X Factor sparked issues that she grappled with for years, resulting in her feeling “chewed up” and spat out by the music industry.

“I was given anti-depressants while on the show. I was 16 and I was prescribed anti-depressants while on the show. I thought that was the norm,” she said.

Let’s take a deep dive into what Cher got up to after The X Factor, from trouble in the States to starting a family.

Cher Lloyd got a number-one single after The X Factor

Cher’s very first single Swagger Jagger was a cultural reset. Sure, your ears begin to bleed if you listen to it for too long, but I can almost guarantee you’re singing it right now. It debuted at number one on the UK chart, selling 303,000 copies in Britain alone, with Cher going on to release her first album Sticks + Stones a few months later.

She tried to make it big in the US

In late December 2011, Cher Lloyd signed with L.A. Reid at Epic Records in the United States, re-releasing Want U Back for an American audience. Though the song did brilliantly over the pond, selling two million copies, her second single Oath with Becky G absolutely bombed.

Things seemed to be looking up for a while in 2013 when she was invited to perform Want U Back with THE Taylor Swift on the Red Tour, but leaving Simon Cowell’s label Syco Music triggered a series of losses that ultimately led to her being dropped by Epic Records and signing with Universal Music Group.

In one particularly hard moment, Cher recalled asking for money from an unnamed label only to be told she needed to get close to Justin Bieber to help her career.

“I walk in and say, look I really need some cash to try and push this record. I was basically told no, but what I needed to do to make this record take off is to hit some of the clubs, find out where Bieber is and I should go try and get with him,” she told Paul Brunson this week.

“He was even stood in that office while I was told they weren’t gonna spend any money on the album, and that I was to go hook up with someone mega famous and basically leech off the back of someone else’s fame. Was I not good enough to invest in, that you would rather use me in that way?”

Following a two-year hiatus, she returned to the world of music in 2016 with the following message for her listeners: “I just want to say thank you so much for being so patient. It’s been a while but it’s definitely worth the wait and I can’t wait for everybody to hear it.”

In more recent years, Cher has released songs such as Activated, None of My Business, Lost, M.I.A, and most recently, Head Down.

Cher Lloyd is now a mother of two

In 2012, Cher Lloyd got engaged to hairstylist Craig Monk on her 18th birthday after only meeting the year before. Though some criticised the move, she defended it on Instagram.

“I’m engaged and want to get married as soon as possible. I can’t wait. People might think I am too young because I’m 18 but they can say what they want. I am from a gypsy background and you are meant to get married at 18,” she said at the time. “I love Craig and he makes me happy. I know I am going to spend the rest of my life with him. I have been through a lot over the past few years and I deserve to have some happiness. He asked me on my birthday. I’m not going to say how he did it but it was very romantic.”

The couple were married in 2013 in a secretive ceremony, with Cher revealing the spectacular news on Instagram a few weeks later. Craig and Cher welcomed their first daughter, Delilah-Rae, in 2018 before welcoming Eliza Violet in September 2023.

Featured image credit: ITV/Cher Lloyd

More on: Celebrity Music Reality TV TV