Liam Payne and son Bear's relationship including first moments to last picture
17 October 2024, 11:15 | Updated: 17 October 2024, 11:24
One Direction's Liam Payne was the proud father of son Bear Grey Payne with ex-girlfriend Cheryl. Here's everything you need to know about their father and son relationship over the years.
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Liam Payne, who tragically died on October 16th, has many things in his life he can be proud of including his time in One Direction, his solo career and most importantly, his son Bear.
Now seven years old, Bear Grey Payne was a truly special little person in the 1D star's life, someone he called his "world" and often spoke about happily when questioned on his time as a father.
Liam welcomed his only son into the world with then girlfriend Cheryl Cole, when he was 24 years old, and has nothing but great things to say about fatherhood. The two have co-parented for the last six years and have done their very best to keep him private while still sharing the odd proud story of him.
Here's a closer look at Liam and son Bear's relationship from the moment they met to his final photos.
Liam and Cheryl welcome Bear into the world
Bear was born on March 22nd, 2017 and those first experiences were precious for the new family of three. Liam has often spoke about how those post-birth moments were scary as well as how they came up with the unusual name, Bear.
He explained how his son was making weird grunting noises when he arrived at that his nickname became the "little bear" which stuck.
A few weeks after becoming a father, Liam said: "The best part about being a dad is when [your children] look at you. They don't just look at you, they look into your soul, they look right through you."
"He's like mini me and he has [Cheryl's] eyes. He's smashed it on the eye front, I look at him and think ah, I love him."
- READ MORE: Liam Payne tributes pour in from Dermot O'Leary, Olly Murs and more following his shock death aged 31
- READ MORE: Liam Payne's amazing X Factor auditions from 2008 and 2010 remembered
Liam breaks silence on Cheryl split
Liam stepped forward and said Bear was the reason he and Cheryl couldn't last but admitted it was for all the right reasons.
In a Logan Paul podcast interview he explained: "To be honest with you, it ruined a relationship at that point – but for all the right reasons. I was so excited for him to be born that I was actually worried I wouldn’t love him enough.
"He is all she cares about and I couldn’t ask for more. She’s the best mum in the world. I couldn’t ask for someone better. I get to take my son to school one or two times a week… The relationship we have now as friends has only grown more. 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 taken care of."
Bear's first birthday
In an adorable photo, Liam can be seen holding his one year old son's hand and he captioned it: "Can’t believe my little man is one today, where does the time go? Happy birthday son, you're my world."
Liam turned 25 that year too and celebrated with a bear birthday cake as a sweet nod to his baby boy.
Liam Payne misses Bear's birthday
Covid struck in 2020 forcing Liam to miss his son's third birthday, something he has stepped forward to describe as a difficult day.
During an interview he said: "It was horrible and I got lots of pictures and videos, I did a little FaceTime. That's been the hardest thing, it's the most difficult thing for all of us."
Bear looks at Liam like a "superhero"
All children idolise their parents so it was sweet when Liam revealed a snippet of how Bear saw him.
During an interview in People in 2022, he said: "I see him two times a week, three times a week sometimes. And I make sure when I see him, he has 100 per cent of my time.
"I like to give him those moments and it's important, he needs that in his life. He needs his dad in his life, and I'm happy he looks at me like a superhero, and I'm hoping to keep it that way."
Liam Payne talks "deep love" for son Bear
It's been no secret that Liam had a long battle with alcohol and drugs and in 2023, he spoke via his Youtube channel about being sober and in rehab.
Talking about his son he honestly said: "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."
He went on to call Bear "awesome" while thanking ex Cheryl for coming to his rescue.
Liam Payne reveals the juggle of work and parenting
Launching a solo career meant Liam had to spend a lot of time away from his son, something he has opened up about struggling with in the past.
When on The One show, he said: "I don't know, I am quite excited to go out (on tour). It is difficult being on the road, going out and promo-ing.
"It has been hard to get home and see him. Loads of random things happen with kids all the time. Like if he's not very well, sometimes you miss dates and things. Then a couple of weeks go by, and I haven't seen him in ages.
"It hurts. I'm just going to have to figure out the schedule properly."
Liam's 31st birthday
Liam celebrated turning 31 in 2024 and took to Instagram to give fans a rare insight into his relationship with Bear.
In an Instagram video, he said: "I didn't get any dad socks yet though. I'm going to speak to my son in a little bit which I'm really excited about.
"Bless him. He's getting so big now. He's a big boy and he looks like a mini me. As if we needed any more me in the world."
Liam Payne's final photos with Bear
It may not have been his final photos with his son before he died, but Liam's final social media post with Bear was a special one.
The father and son were out when they spotted Liam on a billboard. Sharing a photo of the back of Bear's head looking at it, the 'Strip That Down' singer captioned it: "I want to be on a billboard one day daddy."
