A look at Liam Payne's relationship with Cheryl: From first meeting to son Bear and co-parenting after split


At the time of his death, the singer was in a two year relationship with influencer Kate Cassidy but previously dated Girls Aloud singer Cheryl (Tweedy/Cole) after knowing each other for many years.
The One Direction singer died last month after falling from the third floor of the CasaSur Hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina. According to a toxicology report, the singer had traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in his body.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdLiam Payne first met Cheryl when she was a judge on X-Factor in 2008 and he was 14 years old auditioning with his rendition of Frank Sinatra’s ‘Fly Me To The Moon’. As he finished singing a young Liam cheekily winked at the singer. Cheryl - who was 24 at the time - said: "I like you, I think you're really cute. I think you've got charisma - you give us that little cheeky wink.”


In an interview with Logan Paul on his podcast in 2016 Liam said: "When I got back to school, I got a real ribbing for winking at Cheryl. Cut to my 23rd birthday party and here we are together, and my friends are just mute in the corner.”
Liam and Cheryl went public with their relationship in 2016, but according to reports, they started dating in December 2015. The couple made their red carpet debut at the Global Gift Gala in Paris on May 9 2016. A few months later and after lots of speculation, the pair announced she was pregnant with their first child in February 2017 with a photo shoot for L'Oreal and The Prince's Trust.
Their son Bear was born a month later and they announced the happy news in a sweet Instagram post with a picture of Liam holding his baby boy. The couple eventually split in July 2018, but continued to stay friends and co-parent their son.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdFour years after they split in 2022 Liam Payne supported his ex-girlfriend at a charity ball for the late Girl’s Aloud singer Sarah Harding. Cheryl’s bandmate Sarah Harding died after a battle with breast cancer.
Following Liam Payne’s death Cheryl shared a statement explaining how she was trying to navigate through the “earth shattering event”.
Natalie Dixon is NationalWorld’s Lifestyle reporter. If you liked this article and want to read more about celebrities, fashion, beauty and lifestyle you can follow Natalie Dixon on X here.
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.