In part three of our exclusive series, in extracts adapted from her book, Cheryl <\/a>reveals how she met her Moroccan husband Yassine el Jamouni, 39 – who is 21 years her junior – for the first time, after falling in love while they chatted online.<\/p>\n And, in the words of her great pal and EastEnders<\/a> stalwart, Steve McFadden, who wrote the foreword to her book: \u201cWhen Cheryl tells a story, people listen. She is engaging and holds court like no one else.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYassine, or Yas, as I came to call him, was warm, funny and endlessly curious,\u201d Cheryl writes.<\/p>\n \u201cI was a 45-year-old single mum, divorced and juggling work with caring for my kid. He was 24 and living in a suburb in Agadir, Morocco, he fixed computers in hotels, spoke Arabic, French and German and was teaching himself English from tourists, telly, music and now \u2026 me. I was basically his human Duolingo, and we started typing to each other late into the night.\u201d<\/p>\n And so their online friendship unfolded, with him sending her selfies with his family.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course I was struck by his handsome brooding looks with caramel skin and artful stubble, but the chat also felt innocent.\u201d<\/p>\n In EastEnders at the time, Cheryl continues: \u201cSoon, we were messaging every single day. I would race home from the set after a long day filming, eager to see if Yas had written and there it would be: a little flurry of messages like modern-day love letters, all waiting to be opened.\u201d<\/p>\n Cautious not to reveal too much about herself, her reticence only fuelled Yas\u2019s curiosity.<\/p>\n Cheryl writes: \u201cHis next message popped up a second later: \u2018I don\u2019t understand. Are you in MI5?\u2019 I howled. The thought of me sneaking about in a trench coat with a handgun, drinking matinis and defusing bombs between takes on Albert Square was so ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n Eventually confessing to being a \u201clarger lady,\u201d with trust issues, she began to open up to the handsome Moroccan and they progressed to nightly Skype audio calls. Cheryl was seriously falling for Yas.<\/p>\n She writes: \u201cHe started signing off each call with: \u2018Goodnight beautiful.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cAnd one night, just before hanging up, he said it, \u2018I think I love you.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cI whispered it back, heart thudding, \u2018I think I love you too.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Her feelings continued to escalate until, shutting her laptop one night a while later, she decided: \u201cI\u2019m going to meet this man.\u201d<\/p>\n And that was how she found herself in Gatwick Airport, being recognised by EastEnders fans, as she waited for a flight to Casablanca, Morocco, where she would pick up a 35-minute transfer to Yas\u2019s hometown of Agadir.<\/p>\n Once there, the panic started to set in.<\/p>\n She writes: \u201cMy heart started to pound. I can\u2019t breathe. I can\u2019t breathe. What am I doing here?<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve flown to a country you\u2019ve never been to before, to meet a man you\u2019ve never seen in person and you don\u2019t even speak the language. Are you completely mad?<\/p>\n \u201cI looked around for Yas, but I couldn\u2019t see him anywhere. I fumbled for my bottle of water in my bag, hands shaking, when my trusty battered black case with the purple ribbon tied to the handle toppled over with a thud.<\/p>\n \u201cI bent to grab it, another hand reached down at the same time. It was his hand, Yas\u2019s hand. And there he was.\u201d<\/p>\n Just months later, she recalls Yas telling her: \u201c\u2018I knew the second I saw you, Cheryl. That you were my future wife and that I was going to marry you.\u2019”<\/p>\n And when she eventually accepted his proposal and told her EastEnders pal Steve McFadden, she writes: \u201cSteve gave a low chuckle and stood up to pull me into one of his trademark bear hugs. \u2018Blimey,\u2019 he said, giving me a squeeze, \u2018it only took you going halfway across the world<\/a> to find a bloke\u2026.You\u2019d better tell the scriptwriters then. Heather Trott getting a Moroccan husband might be the best storyline they\u2019ve had in years!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n But romantic their wedding on 2 May, 2011, was not.<\/p>\n She writes: \u201cIt was the worst wedding I\u2019ve ever been to. It was just me and Yas in a register office in Agadir. It was a small, tiled room that honestly felt about the size of a public toilet. The bloke marrying us looked like the spitting image of Mr Bean.<\/p>\n \u201cMarried in a tiled toilet by a Moroccan version of Mr Bean. Only my life, honestly!\u201d<\/p>\n In 2015, Cheryl was diagnosed with cancer of the womb and told she needed a hysterectomy.<\/p>\n She writes: \u201cThe doctor came in, closed the door gently behind him and gave me that look. \u2018Cheryl,\u2019 he said softly, \u2018I\u2019m really sorry. It\u2019s not good news. You have cancer. Stage II womb cancer.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cIt felt like a soap storyline, like I was watching myself on an episode of EastEnders.<\/p>\n \u201cMy first thought was, am I going to die?\u2019 My second, how do I tell Alex? Then Yas popped into my head. He was in Morocco. What would he say? Would he want me when he knew kids were totally off the table?<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to scream, \u2018Why me?\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted the director to yell ‘cut’ and for the scene to be over and for me to be able to walk off set.<\/p>\n \u201cBut somewhere underneath all the shock and sadness, something flickered deep inside. I\u2019d been knocked down before and every single time I\u2019d stood back up. I could do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n Plunged into an early menopause by her hysterectomy, she experienced some tragi-comic moments, with which many menopausal women will identify.<\/p>\n After searching high and low for her keys one night, she writes: \u201cThe next morning, I go to heat up some milk and there they are. My keys are in the bloody microwave. Brilliant, Cheryl. Top marks. Why on earth are they in the microwave? Was I planning to defrost them?<\/p>\n \u201cIt turns out that having no womb means hormonal doom. We\u2019re talking mood swings, brain fog, hot flushes that make you feel like you\u2019re slow roasting in an oven, night sweats and tears over nothing. Isn\u2019t it just marvellous being a woman?\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Cheryl](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0_JS331297583_R.jpg\")
Cheryl was a 45 year old single mum when she met her second husband, Yas(Image: Tim Merry\/Mirror Express)<\/p>\n![\"Cheryl](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0_JS331297469_R.jpg\")
Cheryl, pictured with her 25 year old son, Alex (left), and loving husband Yas (right)(Image: Tim Merry\/Mirror Express)<\/p>\n![\"Cheryl](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0_Cheryl-Fergison.jpg\")
Cheryl romantically flew to Morocco to meet Yas for the first time – and the rest is history(Image: Andy Stenning\/Daily Mirror)<\/p>\n![\"Cheryl](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0_TM240423Cheryl3.jpg\")
In 2015, Cheryl’s world was rocked with an unexpected health diagnosis(Image: Tim Merry\/Mirror Express)<\/p>\n![\"Cheryl's](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/11_9781917439251.jpg\")
Cheryl’s upcoming book shares secrets from her life (Image: Mirror Feature supplied)<\/p>\n