Liam Payne and Cheryl’s relationship: From how it started to the reason they broke up

They welcomed son Bear after one year together

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Liam Payne tragically past away on Wednesday this week aged just 31, leaving behind his son Bear who he welcomed with former partner, Cheryl.

Cheryl and Liam Payne were only together for a short amount of time, but despite their split remained co-parents of their son, and spoke highly of one another.

Liam Payne and Cheryl first met in 2008, when he auditioned for The X Factor. Liam was aged 14 at the time, and Cheryl was 10 years older than him and a judge on the show. At the time she was still married to her former husband, Ashley Cole. Fast forward nine years, and she and Liam had welcomed a child together. Here’s a full timeline of Liam and Cheryl’s relationship.

via David Fisher/Shutterstock

Liam Payne and Cheryl first started dating in in 2016

In 2015, One Direction performed at The X Factor final, which is reportedly where Cheryl and Liam Payne met each other once again – following when he had been on the show for his audition.

Then, Liam Payne and Cheryl first started dating in 2016, just one month after her divorce from her second husband, Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini. In May 2016, the pair confirmed their relationship by making a red carpet debut at the Global Gift Gala in Paris.

He then shared a series of Instagram pictures dedicated to Cheryl, with one on International Women’s Day calling her his “favourite woman in the world”. In the initial time of their relationship, the 10-year age gap was spoken about a lot, with Liam being 22 and Cheryl 32.

They share one son together, Bear

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A post shared by Liam Payne (@liampayne)

In 2017, after a year together, Liam and Cheryl welcome a little boy together. On March 22nd, Cheryl said: “Liam and I became parents to an incredibly beautiful, healthy baby boy, weighing 7lb9 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 added: “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.”

The couple later revealed they had chosen the name Bear.

Why did Liam Payne and Cheryl break up?

Cheryl and I 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.

— Liam (@LiamPayne) July 1, 2018

In July 2018, after two years together, Liam and Cheryl announced they had broken up. On Twitter, Liam announced: “Cheryl and I 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.”

At the time, it was reported the reason behind their breakup was that Liam’s promotional work for his solo career had meant the couple weren’t able to spend much time together.

The couple said they were co-parenting their son, and in the years following their breakup it was clear they still had a good relationship. “Double special day today thanks to two very special ladies and a very special little man,” Liam wrote on Mother’s Day in 2020. “Happy Mother’s Day mum and Cheryl you two are the most amazing mothers Bear and I could have asked for, thanks for raising me right and thank you Cheryl for showing my son all the love in the world.”