Cloud loved her, he started a family with her. Read On The Way To A Smile: The Case of Tifa, initially Cloud was very happy with Tifa and the kids. It wasn't until Elmyra sent Cloud to deliver flowers to Aerith's 'grave' that he began to again get depressed with his survivors guilt, he had the same feelings after Zach died as well. It's crazy that the game has been out 20+ years and people still don't see Aerith was not intended to be the romantic pairing for him, which is why I said they completely botched the romance in this game.
One of the big plot twists in this game was the lifestream sequence where it is revealed that 1. Cloud never got into SOLDIER and 2. Cloud loved Tifa from the time he was like 8 years old. He literally joined the military to get stronger to get Tifa's attention. You don't do crazy shyt like that for a woman you just see as a friend bro. To believe he didn't love her when he was willing to do something as crazy as that is juvenile.
When he was in his mako induced coma in Midgar, the only thing that snapped him back to reality was Tifa and the fact he didn't want to look weak in front of her because he thought that is what she would like, when in fact it is the exact opposite.
If anything Cloud never really loved Aerith because the only time in his life he interacted with Aerith on a personal level was when he was a hybrid between him and Zack, not to mention Cloud and Aerith have no romantic interactions(the date wasn't romantic no matter who you got).