'Age is just a number' - Cheryl fans leap to her defence over gushing picture of Liam Payne

Cheryl fans have come out in her defence after she posted a gushing snap of boyfriend Liam Payne that was targeted by trolls.

The 34-year-old singer and face of L'Oreal couldn't resist sharing a smouldering picture of her 24-year-old boyfriend whom she shares son Bear with.

She captioned the shot: "I had to .. I mean come onnnn " but it wasn't long until the Call My Name hitmakers followers were leaving comments.

Some people focused on the pair's age gap, with one troll stating: "Okay grandma go find someone your own age".

But the former Girls Aloud singer's loyal fan base soon flagged up the unwelcome comments, with one person writing: "They are both looking good and both look 24, age is just a number!"

Someone else said: "let them be happy, its not your relationship so don't even say anything, if you really love Liam then you would support his relationship with Cheryl. What's even wrong with you for you to say something like that? He's happy, she's happy that's all that matters".

Another commented: "Honey you don't need no explanation. We got you."

Cheryl made a fierce appearance on The X Factor over the weekend alongside Simon Cowell, announcing "I'm taken" when a band member of Rak-Su showed interest in her.

Cheryl's latest online offering comes after it was reported that Payne isn't the married type.

Despite giving Cheryl a promise ring to show his commitment to her, he allegedly told Daily Star: "I don't know if I'm the wedding-y type of guy. Weddings feel a bit weird to me. I don't know. Who knows? We'll see."

He also hinted that son Bear is taking up most of the couple's time, adding: "We're just really happy in baby land at the moment. When we're in the kitchen late at night, we were rapping, we were singing. We had a dance battle yesterday. She obviously won. I failed miserably, it was okay."

It was also recently reported that Cheryl "hated" being pregnant, with Payne saying: "She didn't enjoy [pregnancy] as much as she thought she would. There's a lot of things people don't tell you about this pregnancy business that happen. She went through different things with it, especially coming out of it, but she did great."