The pop star ex of Cheryl, Liam Payne, caused a stir last Friday (March 1) as he shared a rare snap of their son Bear on social media.
The celeb parents are no longer a couple, and going by comments made in public over the last few years, their relationship has had ups and downs.
Liam Payne and son Bear
Bear was born in March 2017, which means he is nearly seven years old. A few days ago, Bear’s dad – One Direction star Liam – shared how his son hopes to emulate his father.
A pic showing Bear from behind with an advertising hoarding depicting Liam looking back over his shoulder in an ad for his latest single was accompanied by a caption that made out Bear idolises his dad.
I want to be on a billboard one day daddy ❤️ pic.twitter.com/HJqMDnDUH2
— Liam (@LiamPayne) March 1, 2024
The caption shared with Liam’s 33.3 million Twitter followers, purportedly voiced by Bear, read: “I want to be on a billboard one day daddy.”
It isn’t the first time young Bear is said to have been impressed with his parents’ fame. In November 2023 Cheryl claimed their son was aware her and his dad are celebrities.
She reportedly told British Vogue: “He’s twigged that I’m famous. The other day he said, ‘How lucky am I to have famous parents?’ I said, ‘It doesn’t matter.’ He goes: ‘Yeah. But it’s pretty cool.'”
Cheryl and Liam Payne relationship
It appears matters between Cheryl and Liam may not always have been as “cool”, however.
They are believed to have got together in 2016, with X Factor guru Simon Cowell reportedly claiming in April of that year: “They’re like two little chipmunks madly in love. Literally, they were so cute.”
Bear arrived in early 2017. But by July 2018, Cheryl and Liam had called it quits on their relationship together.
They announced at the time: “We still have so much love for each other as a family”.
A few months earlier, in February 2018, reports suggested there had been rumours about whether they may split.
And the Mirror claimed it was “unusual” that hints about any potential relationship issues would be made in light of tabloid whispers about “the normally private pair”.
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Cheryl and Liam ‘bickering’?
In February 2018 and before the announcement of the end of their relationship, unnamed insiders spoke to the Mirror and said Cheryl and Liam might have been “going through a rough patch”.
One source is said to have pondered: “Hopefully they can emerge intact as a couple. But there’s no denying it – things are pretty rough at the moment between them.
“Everyone hopes they can sort things out but, at the same time, it may be too large an obstacle.”
It was also claimed at the time they hadn’t been pictured together since the previous October.
A anonymous pal apparently claimed: “Things haven’t been right since Christmas, they’ve been bickering a lot. It’s make or break for them at the moment, they really need to be together if it is going to work.”
Liam Payne on ‘struggles’ with Cheryl
In March of 2018, Liam reflected about media coverage of their relationship to the Evening Standard‘s ES magazine: “The funniest thing was a week before we were getting married. The next week we’re splitting up.
“And the thing for me is, I just like to think we’re somewhere in the middle. You know, we have our struggles — like of course I’m not gonna sit here and say that everything’s absolutely fine and dandy, because of course you go through different things, and that’s what a relationship is.”
Meanwhile, the month before in the February, the Daily Mail reportedly claimed Liam was away working a lot and Cheryl was raising Bear.
“There are very real strains of trying to adapt to parenthood whilst being in the spotlight and having to appear as though everything is rosy all of the time,” a source is said to have told the newspaper.
“It’s is fair to say at the moment there is a lot of pressure on both her and Liam. Being apart isn’t helping that.”
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Liam on becoming a dad
In May 2018, Liam reportedly suggested he felt ‘pushed out’.
“A mother and child is the most beautiful thing to watch, but they’re the closest thing ever – and you’ll never be as close,” he told Hashtag Legend.
“A lot of dads feel put out in that sense. I didn’t really feel put out, but I was like, ‘where’s my place?’. I was desperate to find out what I was meant to do.”
He went on: “For me as a dad, you’re just taking care of everything as much as you can, making sure he’s got a smile on his face. And if you cook for her, she feeds him, so you’re cooking for everyone – that’s what my thing was.”
And in November 2018 – after their split – Cheryl reportedly indirectly hinted Liam hadn’t been pulling his weight.
She told the Mirror at the time she’d been struggling with arranging childcare since returning to work. She credited her mum, Joan, and Liam’s parents for stepping in.
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Liam and Cheryl during lockdown
By April 2020, during the first coronavirus lockdown in the UK, Liam expressed his regret at missing Bear’s third birthday.
He said during an appearance on GMB: “Yeah, it was a really tough call to make to not go down for his birthday but I discussed it with Cheryl and we just thought it was the best option.
“I am out here in the city, I had been exposed to so many things before his birthday and we were still finding out more information about this thing.
“It just seemed like the right thing to do at the time, which was horrible, and missing out on it wasn’t great.”
Wonder how that went down?
Liam ‘took time away’ from son Bear
Come November of that year, Liam revealed he was “taking time away” from Bear. He indicated at the time that the global pandemic gave him and Cheryl the opportunity to look at how they co-parent.
“We discussed from the start and for different reasons, me and Cheryl decided I should be away for a little bit,” Liam told Tings at the time.
“It’s not unusual for me to be in and out of his life.”
Liam added: “Bear’s a quiet and chilled child. He doesn’t worry about things too much.”
Liam and Cheryl’s co-parenting relationship
By April 2021, nearly three years after their split, Liam said he and Cheryl were “closer than ever”.
Speaking to Glamour, Liam said that it had been “fantastic” co-parenting during lockdown.
“Cheryl is literally the best person to co-parent with,” he said. “No stress involved. It’s very, very relaxed, and we spend a lot of time on FaceTime.
“And it’s been really lovely, and I’m closer to them than I’ve ever been before, actually, which is really, really nice.”
Additionally, he told YouTube fans the next month about ‘striking a balance’ about ‘pushing’ Bear: “His mum’s quite good at that, to be fair. His mum’s quite good at that stuff.”
Liam Payne on relationships
However, in June 2022, Liam made some eyebrow-raising remarks about the impact having a child had on an unspecified relationship.
He said during an appearance on Logan Paul’s podcast: “I like to talk to other new dads. You don’t know what is coming and it’s different. And to be honest with you, it ruined a relationship for me at that point but for all the right reasons.”
Liam continued: “I was so excited for him to be born that I was actually worried if I wouldn’t love him enough.”
Additionally Liam said about Cheryl: “We broke up for a reason and now she gives me full autonomy of my life and to do what I do and I know he’s [Bear’s] taken care of.
“He is all she cares about and I couldn’t ask for more. They live like three minutes from my house.”
Liam’s tribute to Cheryl
And then, in 2023, Liam also paid tribute to Cheryl as he reflected on attending rehab.
He said on YouTube: “Time with Bear’s been really, really great. More than anything, I want to say thank you to him and his mum for giving me a little bit of freedom to go and get well at that moment because I had to.
“There’s no point trying to be a dad when you’ve got nothing to teach. And I don’t think up until this point I really had much to say to him other than just caring for him very deeply and loving him deeply, which is obviously the most important thing.”
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Read more: Cheryl ‘hasn’t given up dream of having another baby’ as realisation over son Bear ‘hitting home’
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