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Cheryl faced an agonising choice ahead of Liam Payne's funeral on Wednesday.
The 41-year-old Girls Aloud star was among the mourners, including One Direction's Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, and Niall Horan, who gathered to bid farewell to the beloved singer at St Mary's Church in Amersham, Buckinghamshire. Payne tragically lost his life after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires on October 16.
Accompanied by her Girls Aloud bandmates Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh, Cheryl stood with Liam's bereaved parents, Geoff and Karen Payne, and his sisters Ruth and Nicola. She played a tragic role in organising the funeral, which sources claim the family wanted to be a dignified and "perfect" tribute following his untimely death in "such a horrible way".
Cheryl, who shares seven-year-old son Bear with Liam and dated the One Direction heartthrob from 2016 to 2018, maintained a close friendship with him post-breakup, co-parenting their child away from the public eye. At the funeral, she was seen visibly distraught as she bid a final goodbye to her ex-partner.
Donning a £2,000 velvet-trimmed wool coat from London-based designer Liberowe and concealing her sorrow behind sunglasses, Cheryl, described by friends as "devastated", made a poignant final promise to Liam for their son's sake, reports the Mirror.
In a heart-wrenching decision, Cheryl determined that Bear should be part of the funeral proceedings, despite wrestling with whether it was in his best interest.
In the end, Cheryl made the poignant decision to let Bear say his final goodbyes to his dad, Liam, alongside their loved ones and close friends. The pain of planning the funeral was evident in the touching flower arrangements at the burial.
A friend revealed to MailOnline that Cheryl has vowed to keep Liam's memory alive for their child. This promise comes as the full extent of Bear's loss became clear when Liam's coffin arrived at the church in a horse-drawn carriage, adorned with two floral tributes.
One read "son", while a heart-wrenching arrangement of white flowers from Bear read "Daddy".
Those close to the singer described Cheryl as "dreadfully sad", adding: "She has her own grief, but she also has a little boy who won't see his daddy again, and that is just heartbreaking."
Cheryl shared a moving tribute to her former partner on Instagram just days after his passing. At the time, she told her fans that she had to come to terms with the reality of Bear never seeing his father again.
Posting a cherished photo of Liam in bed with their son, Cheryl said: "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."
As Liam's coffin, transported by a horse-drawn hearse, arrived at the church, mourners gathered while fans lined the streets to pay their respects. The funeral saw the presence of Liam's former One Direction bandmates.
The ceremony was attended by a host of stars including James Corden, Rochelle and Marvin Humes, Simon Cowell, Robbie Keane, Damian Hurley, and Liam's girlfriend, Kate Cassidy.
Following the tragic news of his death, fans worldwide held vigils, and a shrine was erected in his honour in Wolverhampton, West Midlands.
In the wake of the funeral, a GoFundMe page was launched to honour Liam's memory and support the construction of a new Children's Cancer Centre at Great Ormond Street Hospital. The cause of death was determined as multiple traumas with "internal and external haemorrhage", according to the post-mortem examination report.
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