Liam Payne 's death shocked the world on Oct. 16, 2024, but few are likely to be as heartbroken as the singer's young son.
Payne, who died at age 31, left behind one child, Bear, with his ex Cheryl .
The One Direction alum was a proud papa, telling PEOPLE in 2022, "I like to give him those moments and it's important, he needs that in his life, he needs his dad in his life, and I'm happy he looks at me like a superhero, and I'm hoping to keep it that way."
While he and Cheryl (formerly Cheryl Cole) keep their son's life private, they've shared some sweet stories about their boy through the years. Get to know Liam Payne's son Bear .
The mother of Payne's child his Cheryl, his ex-girlfriend. Cheryl is a member of British girl group Girls Aloud and was a judge on X Factor when Payne first auditioned in 2008. They reportedly began dating sometime in late 2015 and went public in 2016.
They welcomed their son in March 2017, but split less than a year later in July 2018.
How often does Liam Payne see his son?
Payne previously told PEOPLE that he sees his son two to three times every week, adding, "And I make sure when I see him, he has 100% of my time. I make sure that I'm not on my phone or d--king around somewhere else."
In 2020, Payne revealed to PEOPLE that Bear was developing his natural singing ability, but that he feared his son entering the industry at a young age.
"I am very frightened about the idea of him entering the world that I'm in. I will never ever take for granted the position I'm in, I love it very much and I've been doing it for 11 years, but it's a lot to enter it so young," Payne admitted.
"I maybe missed out on different things, but I will never stop him from doing something that he wants to do," he added. "I will say he has way more attitude than me on stage. He was wearing a cape the other day and mid-song, he just decided to rip it off! It's ridiculous. He doesn't get that from me. That is strictly from [his] mum."
Payne was 23 years old when his son was born. Cheryl was 33.
"I always wanted to be a young dad, but I didn't really expect that I'd ever be in this place," he told PEOPLE in 2018. "I had my son at a young age, and you think it will be a magical thing, that you're going to grow up one day into the person you're supposed to be. But it took a lot to find my footing. I figured, 'Dad takes care of everyone, that's what he does,' so my thing was to cook."
Payne's son is named Bear Grey Payne. Though his face is kept private, Payne previously told PEOPLE that Bear is his spitting image.
"It's been a difficult ride, but it's fantastic watching him grow into the person he's become," Payne said in 2020. "He's a really lovely boy and I feel like he's in the middle of settling into himself. He looks exactly like me, which is very strange. When family members see baby pictures of me now, they say, 'Oh wow, Bear looks really great there!'"
Why did Liam Payne name his son Bear?
Payne revealed on The Late Late Show With James Corden that he and Cheryl chose the name Bear for their son because his breathing as a newborn sounded slightly like growling.
He recalled that he and Cheryl took their son to a doctor to make sure he was OK, and the doctor explained that the baby was fine, just noisy: "So he just became Bear."
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