Cheryl fans say 'never' as she breaks social media silence and says 'this is 40' as she celebrates milestone

Girls Aloud icon Cheryl has broken her social media silence as she told fans: "This is 40!" The singer is celebrating her milestone birthday on Friday (June 30) and felt it was the perfect time to make a comeback in the online world as she marked the special occasion.

Taking to her Instagram page, which she hasn't been active on since April when she celebrated the end of her stint in West End play 2:22 A Ghost Story, Cheryl posted a snap of herself looking unrecognisable in a pair of oversized shades.

The pop star, who shot to fame at the tender age of 19 back in 2002 when she impressed the judges on Popstars: The Rivals to be chosen to be one-fifth of the girl band Girls Aloud, was seen sporting a pink shirt that had been tied at her waist to turn it into a crop-top and a pair of oversized wide leg green trousers

Try MEN Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features

But you could barely see Cheryl's face as she put on a pair of large Daisy-shaped sunglasses while her own pair of shades had been pushed back over her brunette locks which had been tied up.

"So…this is 40," Cheryl simply captioned the post with a daisy emoji as she shared the image with her 3.4 million followers. And it didn't take long for the birthday wishes to come flooding in for the Geordie star.

Former Geordie Shore star Vicky Pattison said: "Happy birthday beautiful girl." TV presenter Laura Whitmore commented: "Happy birthday," with a red heart.

@cheryldaily wrote: "HAPPY 40TH BIRTHDAY OUR QUEEN!" @maraki987 commented: "40 never looked better!!! Have the best day ever." @mynamemolly_ replied: "Slaying! Happy 40th Birthday gorgeous one." @cheryls40th posted: "Happy birthday. 40 never looked better."

@jorddi