Cheryl first met Payne when she was a judge on the X-Factor and Payne auditioned for the show when he was just 14-years-old – before going on to start a relationship and have his baby
Cheryl, the ex-girlfriend and of Liam Payne and mother of son Bear Payne, has broken her silence over her former partner’s tragic death on Wednesday Oct. 16.
Payne, 31, was found dead after falling from a third-floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, local officials told Argentine media. In tribute, Cheryl uploaded a sweet photo of Liam with Bear when he was just an infant along with a heartfelt tribute.
She wrote: “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.”
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The chart-topping singer went on to add: “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.”
She concluded: “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.”
Cheryl first met the future One Direction star when he was only 14, when Payne auditioned for the X-Factor, where she was a judge at the time. They first started dating in February of 2016 and their son Bear was born in 2017. Cheryl had initially attempted to hide her pregnancy from the public but revealed that she was expecting during a L’Oreal photoshoot where she posed in a close-fitting black dress and cradled her bump.
The arrival of their son appeared to cause strife between the couple and they would split up only a year later. During a podcast interview in June 2022 Payne said of the mother of his child “”She is the best mum in the world, I couldn’t ask for someone better.” He added however that the birth of their son “ruined” their relationship for “all the right reasons.”
Last year the One Direction star revealed in 2023 that he had spent 100 days in a rehab facility in Louisiana to be treated for drug and alcohol addiction. He said regarding the rehab stint, “I just needed to take a little bit of time out for myself actually, because I kind of became somebody who I didn’t really recognize any more.”
Authorities in Argentina are still investigating the cause of Payne’s death but according to initial reports from authorities in the country the singer fell from the third floor of his Buenos Aires hotel on Wednesday Oct. 16. He was their to attend the concert of his former One Direction bandmate Niall Horan.
