Cheryl Tweedy and ex-husband Ashley Cole's dog Coco died last week.

The 34-year-old singer has been left heartbroken after the Chihuahua she adopted in 2006 with the 36-year-old soccer star - who she split from in 2010 - passed away, and only publicly shared the sad news with a fan over Twitter on Sunday (03.09.17).

Replying to her follower who tweeted a picture of her own dog, Cheryl wrote: "She's very sweet. Girl dogs are always so cute. Sadly my little Coco passed away last week (sic)"

The former Girls Aloud star - who has six-month-old son Bear with boyfriend Liam Payne - has another Chihuahua called Buster and two Jack Russells, and she has made no secret of the fact her pets are a huge part of her life.

When she negotiated the terms of her divorce from Ashley, the brunette beauty insisted she got to get custody of Buster and Coco.

The former couple agreed to "temporary custody" with both Coco and Buster being transported between their homes as Ashley looked after them for short periods.

At the time an insider revealed: "The dogs mean the world to both Cheryl and Ashley.

"Cheryl, in particular, is attached to them and, in the place of children, would do anything for Buster and Coco. She doesn't want to lose them.

"They want to sort this out as amicably as possible. So, to keep the peace, Cheryl is allowing Ashley to spend a few days with them."

Meanwhile, the 'Love Machine' hitmaker also has another little Chihuahua with her 'Strip That Down' hitmaker beau Liam.

Sharing a cute photograph of their puppy and his partner on Instagram last year, the One Direction hunk joked: "Our new family ... he is beyond cute .. the dog is adorable too. (sic)"