Last week we were totally convinced that Cheryl Cole and dancer Derek Hough were a loved-up couple. However, it now seems that their apparent relationship may be a cover-up.

Cheryl’s friend, boxing champion Amir Khan, told Grazia magazine that their union was purely platonic: “I had dinner with Cheryl and Derek in LA last week. He’s not her boyfriend.”

“It’s all just a cover-up to keep photographers at bay,” he added.

Hmm. We’re still not sure – fair enough, we haven’t seen them kiss publicly, or even hold hands, but the amount of time they have spent together in recent months has us wondering.

They holidayed together in Tanzania, and Derek stayed loyally by Cheryl’s side while she recovered from malaria. He also kept her company after her separation from husband Ashley. They have recently been photographed together shopping and having dinner.

We were really excited last week when X Factor choreographer Brian Friedman claimed they were a couple: “I thought they would make a good couple and I’m so pleased to say they do. They’re very, very cute together.”

We’re officially confused. Are they, or aren’t they?

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