Liam Payne and Cheryl were once one of the most famous couples in showbiz, but their romance was not to last. Here we take a look at their relationship from the start to their heartbreak split

Cheryl had a close relationship with Liam Payne for years (Image: (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP) (Photo by

Liam Payne and former Girls Aloud singer Cheryl were once the epitome of a happy family, particularly after welcoming their son, Bear. However, not long after Bear’s birth, their relationship began to unravel, and by 2018, they had parted ways. Cheryl showed her face at Liam’s funeral on Wednesday – showing the love she still had for him.

This split happened just months after Bear was born in 2017, with both celebrities later revealing what went wrong. Their paths first crossed in 2008 on The X Factor, where Cheryl was judging and Liam, then 14, was a contestant. They rekindled their connection in 2015 when Liam returned to the show with his band One Direction, which catapulted him to global fame.

Liam, who tragically passed away age 31, had always dreamed of being a father and desired a simple life with Cheryl. Despite his reluctance to pursue a solo career after One Direction, he did so at 41-year-old Cheryl’s encouragement.

However, the calm soon turned to chaos. Liam has hinted that parenthood may have “ruined” their love, though for “all the right reasons”.

The couple dated for a number of years (Image: (Image: WireImage))

Liam found stardom with One Direction, alongside Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, and Niall Horan, starting his rise to fame on The X Factor stage, mentored by Simon Cowell.

Reports suggest that Liam tragically plunged from the third floor of a hotel building in Buenos Aires. Emergency services quickly descended on the scene, including cops, firefighters and paramedics.

They rushed outside the hotel after the dreadful incident came to light. Word got out that police were called due to a disturbance involving a man said to be acting wildly at the premises, perhaps under the influence of substances or booze.

In the aftermath, a body was found lying in the hotel’s inner courtyard. It’s said the hotel boss was the one who got the police involved.

Liam Payne said he found it ‘difficult’ at first, but eventually felt looking after Cheryl, 36, ‘made sense’ as the best way of looking after Bear (Image: (Image: Instagram Liam Payne))
It’s feared Liam took a fall from a height thought to be around 13 or 14 metres, resulting in terrible wounds described as “very serious injuries incompatible with life”.

Speaking about the devastating event, the local ambulance head gave a comment to TN: “At 17.04 through the 911 integrated public safety system, we were alerted of a person who was in an internal courtyard of the management of a south house hotel. At 17.11 a SAME team arrived and verified the death of this man and later we found out that he was a singer in a musical group. Unfortunately, he had injuries that were incompatible with life, as a result of his fall, so we had to confirm his death, there was no possibility of resuscitation.”

The singer, on vacation in Argentina, had been sharing snaps with fans on TikTok and Snapchat recently, appearing blissful alongside his girlfriend Kate Cassidy. Yet whispers about him and a good mate have started to make the rounds.

He shared son Bear Payne with ex-partner Cheryl (Image: (Image: INSTAGRAM Cheryl))
During recent months, Liam, aged 31, has travelled far and wide while also teasing new tunes for his followers. This article takes some time to dwell upon Liam’s past romance with Cheryl.

Cheryl and Liam, despite parting ways, maintain a strong connection and have each other’s best interests at heart. The concern was palpable as Cheryl, unnerved by news of Liam’s emergency hospital dash due to a bad kidney infection, led to him axing his tour.

A source close to Cheryl unveiled to Heat magazine: “Cheryl is really worried about Liam. As soon as she heard he was in hospital, she feared the worst.”

They added, expressing her protective instincts, “She’s really protective of him and is worried no one is actually looking out for him.”

The insider also hinted that the health scare acted as an alarming signal for Cheryl who knows all too well the demands of touring and earning a living. Living just minutes apart to share parenting duties of their child Bear, Liam treasures his time with his son and has nothing but high praise for Cheryl’s maternal aptitude.

Speaking on Logan Paul’s podcast Impulsive, he said: “She is the best mum in the world. I couldn’t ask for someone better,” and continued to reflect on their current dynamics, “I get to take my son to school one or two times a week and it’s the best thing. The relationship we have now as friends has only grown more.”

He further clarified the reasoning behind their separation and emphasized the mutual respect they share, stating: “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.”

In a candid dialogue with Logan Paul, the One Direction celebrity opened up about his split from Cheryl after two years together, admitting: “To be honest with you, it ruined a relationship at that point but for all the right reasons.”

He went on to recount the scary birthing experience when their son Bear was born, revealing Cheryl “haemorrhaged quite badly” post-delivery, which necessitated her to rest and left him in charge of their newborn on the first day. “It was me and a baby in the room and I had to take care of it. It was fun,” he commented.

The pop star didn’t shy away from discussing the couple’s turbulent relationship, even as it put their disputes in the spotlight. During a visit to the Capital Breakfast show, amidst swirling breakup rumours, Liam playfully mocked Cheryl’s accent, saying: “I’m a West Brom fan, but that’s not the problem. Sometimes it is! Well, this is the thing, I mean Cheryl’s not really that massively into football but she likes to bring up where they’re from when this happens, isn’t it, it’s like ‘oh well I’m from here so I’m gonna do this’, erm, that was a great Geordie accent… [laughs]. That is what she sounds like in the morning! “.

Liam playfully speculated about their son’s future sports preferences, quipping: “It’s like battle of the grandads at the minute, and he’s going to have a tough little choice on his hands at some point because you’re going to have to disappoint some grandparents. Or he’ll just have to go ‘you know what, forget this, I like ice hockey’. Pick a different sport.”

Cheryl and Liam were an item for two years before they went public with their breakup in July 2018. He opened up about their personal life, touching on the difficulties they encountered in finding time for each other following the arrival of their son Bear in 2017