Liam Payne's relationship with Cheryl - and real reason for split

Liam Payne died on Wednesday 16 October aged 31 after falling from the third floor of the Casa Sur Hotel in Argentina, leaving behind his girlfriend Kate Cassidy and his son Bear, whom he shared with his ex Cheryl Cole.

The One Direction star and the Girls Aloud singer, 41, had a high-profile relationship from 2015 to 2017. Take a look inside Liam and Cheryl's love story, which began years after they first met on camera…

First meeting

Liam first auditioned for The X Factor in 2008 aged 14 in front of judges Simon Cowell, Dannii Minogue, Louis Walsh and Cheryl Cole. He wasn't successful the first time but returned two years later when his journey with boyband One Direction began.

It wasn't until ten years after that that the pair's friendship turned romantic, but Liam addressed their first meeting with Esquire in May 2020.

"Let’s address the elephant in the room," he said while rewatching his first audition. "Obviously, the future mother of my son is sitting in that chair. This is now an episode of How I Met Your Mother, so that’s enough of that I think."

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Couple debut

Cheryl was married twice before she began her relationship with Liam; first to Ashley Cole from 2006 to 2010 followed by Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini from 2014 to 2016.

She became reacquainted with Liam at The X Factor final in December 2015 and the couple – who have a 10-year age gap – made their red carpet debut as a couple at the Global Gift Gala in May 2016, where Cheryl took home the Global Gift Philanthropist Award.

Baby boy

Liam and Cheryl fuelled pregnancy rumours for weeks before Cheryl confirmed she was expecting in February 2017. She was pictured cradling her blossoming baby bump in a campaign between The Princes Trust and L'Oreal alongside Helen Mirren, Katie Piper and Louisa Johnson.

The following month, after just one year of dating, they welcomed their son Bear.

Confirming the happy news on Instagram, the 'Fight for this Love' singer shared a picture of doting dad Liam cradling his newborn and wrote: "On Wednesday 22nd March Liam and I became parents to an incredibly beautiful, healthy baby boy, weighing 7lb 9 and looking like a dream.

"Although he still doesn’t have a name he is already stealing hearts. We are all madly in love and overwhelmingly happy with our little arrival. Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers around the world. A day that now has a different meaning to me forever."

Liam shared his own heartfelt post that read: "My close friends and family know there are very few times when I’m left speechless… wow! I’m incredibly happy to welcome our new baby boy into the world.

"It’s a moment that I will never forget for the rest of my life and my favourite memory I have so far. I’m completely in awe of his incredible mother and how she has been the whole way through this, she’s really made my dreams come true."

Split

Bear was just one when the couple split in July 2018 following a two-year romance. The 'Strip That Down' singer announced the news on X, formerly Twitter, and confirmed they would continue to co-parent their son.

"Cheryl and I are sad to announce that we are going our separate ways. It’s been a tough decision for us to make," he penned.

"We still have so much love for each other as a family. Bear is our world and we ask that you respect his privacy as we navigate our way through this together."

In 2022, Liam suggested that becoming a father impacted his relationship with Cheryl. Addressing fellow fathers, he said on Logan Paul's Impaulsive podcast: "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. I was so excited for him to be born that I was actually worried if I wouldn't love him enough."

He also took the opportunity to praise Cheryl's parenting skills. "She is the best mum in the world. I couldn't ask for someone better," he said, adding: "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. I always glue myself to where he is. My life now is his. My money is his. He's a lovely, lovely boy. We've been blessed."

Co-parenting Bear

Cheryl tends to keep her home life with Bear private, but she made a rare comment about their different parenting styles in 2019.

"[Liam is] much softer than me. But it is what it is, and I’m OK about it," she told The Telegraph. Speaking of co-parenting, she continued: "When you have a baby, you are not consumed with just thinking about yourself. It’s your responsibility to keep things settled and happy, so you make the best of everything. And we have."

The same year, Liam opened up about Bear's personality during an interview with Us.

"Sometimes he’ll sort of have a go at his mum and I’ll be like, ‘Bear, stop it.' He just wouldn’t listen to me today… He just wants to silence me with his hand. He’s like, 'Just give me a minute. I’m busy.'"

In 2023, Liam took a break from the public eye and later confirmed that he was six months sober following a 100-day stay at a treatment facility.

Gushing about Cheryl's support, he explained in a YouTube video: "More than anything, I want to say thank you to [Bear] and his mum for giving me a little bit of freedom to go and get well in 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."

MORE: Inside Maya Henry's complex relationship with late singer Liam Payne