As loved ones say their final goodbyes to Liam Payne at his funeral today, the Mirror takes a look back over his and Cheryl’s love story, from their glittering X Factor days to supporting each other as co-parents and amicable exes

Although they split up six years ago, Cheryl remained a huge part of Liam Payne’s life right up until the end.

The Girls Aloud star will be among those mourning the One Direction star today as he’s laid to rest. Known as ‘Chiam’ to fans, the two singers met through ITV’s The X Factor – once the most popular talent show on telly – and from the outside at least, their relationship couldn’t have been more perfect.

The former couple confirmed their romance in 2016, shortly after Cheryl’s divorce, and went on to welcome son Bear the following year. But it wasn’t meant to be.

The amicable exes committed themselves to co-parenting Bear as a team, which they continued until Liam’s tragic death last month at the age of just 31. Liam, whose funeral will take place today, died on October 16 after plunging from a third-floor balcony at a hotel in the Argentinian city of Buenos Aires.

In the aftermath of Liam’s death, Cheryl, 41, paid tribute to the man she’d once been in love with, reminding fans that he was ‘not only a pop star and celebrity’ but also ‘a son, a brother, an uncle, a dear friend and a father’. Here, the Mirror takes a look back at Liam and Cheryl’s love story from their now-famous first meeting to going their separate ways.

Liam auditioned for The X Factor in 2008, impressing judge Cheryl

Meeting on The X Factor

2008: Liam wowed the judges at the 2008 X Factor auditions with his rendition of Fly Me To The Moon. He was 14, while his future love was 10 years older. “I like you, I think you’re really cute,” Cheryl told him after Simon Cowell knocked him for not being ‘fun’ enough. She added: “You’ve got charisma, you gave us that little cheeky wink!”

2010: Liam returned to The X Factor and blew the judges away two years after his first audition. Impressed, Cheryl told him afterwards: “You’ve definitely got it. Whatever it is, you’ve got it. And your voice is really powerful.” This time, Liam got through as a member of the freshly formed One Direction and was placed in Simon’s category.

Cheryl, meanwhile, was recovering from malaria and linked to her Parachute dance partner Derek Hough in the wake of her heartbreaking divorce from Ashley Cole.

Cheryl said Liam had ‘what it takes’, and he went on to join 1D

Reunion and love blossoms

2015: Cheryl and Liam reunited at The X Factor final when One Direction appeared for one of their last performances before their hiatus. The pair were spotted hugging during an ad break, but the pictures didn’t come to light for a few more weeks.

2016: Cheryl filed for divorce from her French husband, citing irreconcilable differences in the official paperwork. Although her decree nisi didn’t come through until October, Cheryl began carving out a life for herself as a single woman earlier on in the year.

When Liam first shared a photo of his new hand tattoo, it didn’t appear to be particularly significant. As time went on, however, it became clear that this body art was a clear tribute to Cheryl’s rose tattoo, inked on her bottom. Amid speculation that he and Cheryl were getting closer in the wake of their respective splits, in February of that year, Liam posted a picture of a rose on his Instagram, captioning it: “Happy Valentine’s Day baby.”

When news of their relationship eventually broke in May 2016, when the couple appeared together at the Global Gift Gala in Cannes, not everyone believed they were the real deal. Then, two days later, Liam confirmed they were an item by changing his Instagram profile picture to a sweet couple’s snap.

The pair hugged during an ad break of The X Factor final in 2015 ( 
Image:
YouTube/OneDire Compilation)

Instagram official

2016: In March 2016, Liam shared a loved-up picture of him and Cheryl on his Instagram. One week later, he posted another throwback snap of Cheryl to mark International Women’s Day, telling his fans that she was his “favourite woman in the world”, adding that he hoped he made her as happy as she made him.

It wasn’t all plain sailing, however, and in April of that year, Cheryl was forced to deny reports she cheated on Jean-Bernard with Liam towards the end of her marriage. She tweeted: “If anybody believes the s**t they’re reading today, you really don’t know me at all.”

The couple made their relationship official in May 2016 ( 
Image:
Dave Benett/Getty Images)
In May 2016, Liam and Cheryl made their first official red carpet-appearance at Cannes, where they appeared smitten. They also shared more of their private snaps via their respective social accounts.

By November of that year, Cheryl had parted ways with her management company Modest Management amid rumours that she was set to launch her solo comeback in early 2017. Modest also looked after One Direction until the band split in January 2016.

That same month, the couple made an appearance at the St James Christmas Carol Concert. in London, where Cheryl wore a khaki green dress that showed her prominent bump. Although the pair kept quiet about their happy news, fans were quick to express their excitement.

Cheryl falls pregnant

2016: Cheryl reportedly confirmed her pregnancy to friends and family in late November of that year. However, sources close to her clarified she wouldn’t be making a public statement.

2017: On March 25, 2017, Cheryl announced she’d given birth to her and Liam’s child, sharing a picture of Liam holding their new baby son. They announced their choice of name – Bear – but, mindful of his status as a celebrity child, opted not to share any pictures of his face.

On March 25, 2017, they became parents and shared how they were ‘madly in love’
Taking to Instagram at the time, Cheryl 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.”

Relationship problems

2017: In October 2017, after a summer of promotional interviews for his first solo album, Liam revealed at the Pride of Britain Awards that he wasn’t going to be spending much time with Cheryl and Bear over Christmas due to work commitments.

He told The Mirror: “Cheryl is at home with him [Bear] now and my parents are on the way over, they’re going to spend a week with us which is really nice because I’m not going to get to see them much in December so I told them they should come back and hang out with us.”

They had lots of ups and downs throughout their two-and-a-half-year relationship ( 
Image:
Internet Unknown)
2018: Just 11 months after Bear’s arrival, news broke that the couple were reportedly having problems due to not spending enough time together. With Liam away working a lot, Cheryl was reportedly left with the majority of childcare duties at home.

“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 told the Daily Mail in February 2018. “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.”

Bold statement

2018: Although they didn’t comment on the split rumours, the couple made a very public statement by attending the Brit Awards together in February 2018. They appeared close as they walked the red carpet, but were later pictured looking glum as they left the bash.

In March of that same year, Liam admitted he and Cheryl were having “struggles” and admitted that not everything was “fine and dandy”. “The funniest thing was a week before we were getting married. The next week we’re splitting up,” he told the Evening Standard’s ES magazine.

They attended the BRIT Awards together amid split rumours, but soon their romance began to crumble
“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.” It’s the first time either of them had acknowledged the rumours swirling around their relationship.

Candid truths

2018: Liam admitted he’d felt ‘pushed out’ by his son’s birth during a May 2018 interview with Hashtag Legend. “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 the publication. “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 continued: “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. As daft as it sounds, cooking actually got me through fatherhood because it made me feel useful, rather than being the guy who just gets handed to change his nappy and make him laugh and giggle.”

Sad split

2018: Liam ended up in hot water during a live radio interview in May 2018, as he told presenter Nick Grimshaw that Cheryl was “in the toilet”. He then said: “Oh, she’s coming out now, one second. Let’s find out what’s going on. First off, was it a number one or two?” before laughing. “Erm, she says ‘stop it’.” A source said at the time she was furious with Liam for humiliating her, and some fans viewed this as the last straw.

In July of that year, the pair announced they were splitting up after two and a half years together but vowed to remain close while co-parenting their son. A statement read: “We are sad to announce that we are going our separate ways. It’s been a tough decision for us to make. 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 November, Cheryl also declared she was ‘done’ with dating after two failed marriages and her split from Liam. During an appearance on Jessie Ware’s Table Manners podcast, she explained: “I know what I want in life, but in the romantic area, I am not as evolved. That area has stopped. It’s not happening anymore. It’s the end. It’s the end. I’ve got the man [Bear] in my life now.”

Faithful admission

2018 In a frank interview with The Sunday Times’ Style magazine, Cheryl asserted that Liam was ‘the only man who has ever been faithful to her’.

Cheryl, who hasn’t gone public with another relationship in the years since she and Liam split, also expressed joyful contentment in her life as a single mum to young Bear. In a sweet reflection on the happiness she’s found in motherhood, Cheryl explained: “I’m fulfilled. I’m not looking for anything any more. I’m whole. I’ve got the man of my dreams.”

Cheryl announced she was looking for a sperm donor, and Liam offered his support ( 
Image:
INSTAGRAM)

Liam addressed how Cheryl was one of the judges during his first X Factor audition ( 
Image:
Getty Images for ABA)

Sperm donor search

2020: In January 2020, Cheryl announced she was looking for a sperm donor for baby two. She told The Times of her plans to conceive “more than one child” via a sperm donor, while revealing that she was willing to go abroad to find the right outcome.

Liam responded by with support for Cheryl’s plan. “He gave Cheryl his full blessing – insisting he’d support her however he could and making her feel at ease with her decision by letting her know they’d be one big blended family,” a source told New magazine.

They added: “Cheryl’s come to peace with the decision to find a sperm donor and she’s desperate to fall pregnant with twins – insisting that given she wants two more children, it will be far easier to do it once than go through the process again down the line.”

Co-parenting together

2020: Liam commented on an old clip of his X Factor audition in a May 2020 interview with Esquire, remarking: “Let’s address the elephant in the room… Obviously, the future mother of my son is sat in that chair.” Cheryl reportedly wasn’t happy that he’d brought it up.

2022: That same month, Liam touched on the breakdown of his relationship after having Bear interview with US YouTuber Logan Paul. He shared: “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 if I wouldn’t love him enough.”

Liam said he ‘couldn’t ask for more’ from Cheryl as ‘all she cares about’ is their son ( 
Image:
IMPAULSIVE/Youtube)
He also revealed that it had been scary when Bear was first born as Cheryl had “haemorrhaged quite badly” after the birth. This meant she had to rest for much of Bear’s first day in the world – leaving a young Liam to care for his baby son. “It was me and a baby in the room, and I had to take care of him. It was fun,” he said.

Discussing his father-son relationship with Bear and the co-parenting agreement he has with Cheryl, Liam added: “I take my son to school one or two times a week, and it’s the best thing. The relationship we [him and Cheryl] 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 [Bear’s] taken care of. He is all she cares about, and I couldn’t ask for more.”

2024: In March of this year, Liam offered a rare glimpse into his family life. He posted an Instagram showing Bear in a yellow jacket looking at a billboard advertising his dad’s new music. The caption read, “I want to be on a billboard one day, Daddy.”

At the time, an insider told OK! that Liam was ready for a fresh start, revealing: “We don’t see a lot of Bear on Liam’s social media, but I think he wants to prove to Cheryl that he’s getting his life together. He really wants to be a good dad, and with Cheryl now going back on tour with Girls Aloud, she’ll be busier than ever and won’t be at home as much.”

Tragic end and drugs ‘nightmare’

2024 In the aftermath of his fatal fall, toxicology tests found traces of alcohol, cocaine and an antidepressant in the star’s system. In life, Liam had spoken candidly about the issues he’d had with drugs, and fans had hoped he’d overcome his substance issues.

Opening up about darker times in his life on a 2022 episode of the Diary of a CEO podcast with Steven Bartlett, Liam recalled: “I was worried how far my rock bottom was going to be. Where’s rock bottom for me? And you would never have seen it. I’m very good at hiding it. No one would ever have seen it.”

Cheryl has long been vocal in her strong aversion to drug use, with the devastating death of a beloved childhood friend to a heroin overdose driving home just how dangerous such substances can be. Budding footballer John Courtney was just 21 years old when he passed away from an overdose in 2005, and the loss affected Cheryl profoundly.

Cheryl later said: “It put me off drugs for life. That nightmare devastated all John’s family and friends.” In the days that followed Liam’s death, heartbroken Cheryl issued the following statement: “As I try to navigate this earth-shattering event and work through my own grief at this indescribably painful time, I’d like to kindly remind everyone that we have lost a human being.

“Liam was not only a pop star and celebrity, he was a son, a brother, an uncle, a dear friend and a father to our 7 year old son. A son that now has to face the reality of never seeing his father again.”

She continued: “What is troubling my spirit the most is that one day Bear will have access to the abhorrent reports and media exploitation we have seen in the past two days. It is breaking my heart further that I cannot protect him from that in his future.

“I am begging you to consider what use some of these reports are serving other than to cause further harm to everyone left behind picking up the pieces. Before you leave comments or make videos, ask yourself if you would like your own child or family to read them. Please give Liam the little dignity he has left in the wake of his death to rest in some peace at last. Thank you, Cheryl.”