Cheryl's estranged husband admits their break-up has been "hard".

Cheryl

Cheryl

The 'Only Human' singer - who is now dating One Direction hunk Liam Payne - split from Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini last December, just 18 months after they wed in secret following a whirlwind romance, and the restaurateur hasn't found parting ways easy.

He told new! magazine: "A break-up is always hard."

The 35-year-old entrepreneur recently insisted he bears no hard feelings towards the 32-year-old pop star.

He said: "It's been a tough year, I'm trying to move on. I'll never think badly of her. She is a great girl. I'm still a married man, but there is someone else."

However, he denied recent reports linking him to Cheryl's former friend Vanessa Perroncel and 'Baywatch' actress Pamela Anderson.

He said: "I'm not going out with Vanessa, I've known her for 10 years and she has a boyfriend.

"And me and Pamela are good friends. She's a great girl. Just because you are out with someone doesn't mean you are in a relationship."

And JB opened up about his first meeting with Cheryl, admitting he fell for her immediately.

He said: "I was having a party at my house in South Africa and she turned up, but I didn't know who she was. I always go for very beautiful women.

"I fell in love, what could I do? I didn't know Cheryl was famous when I met her."

Cheryl and Jean Bernard tied the knot in a secret ceremony on the island of Mustique in 2014, just months after they met but she filed for divorce earlier this year.

A source said at the time: "They split up in August. They are still very good friends but are now getting a divorce. In the end Cheryl realised she had married too soon and had been swept away by a bit of a whirlwind romance.

"Over time it became clear to each of them that they were very different people and from very different worlds. They are now focusing on making sure they stay friends. The divorce is amicable and they have both said they will always be there for each other."