Liam Payne and Cheryl Cole may have ended their relationship six years before his death but the pair remained a big part of each other's lives up until the very end.
The Girls Aloud singer, who shares seven-year-old son Bear with the late One Direction star, will be among those attending his funeral today.
Liam will finally be laid to rest today, five weeks on from his tragic death on October 16. The 31-year-old passed away after falling from a third floor balcony at a hotel in Argentina last month.
Cheryl and Liam first met when Payne was just 14-years-old and auditioned for the X-Factor with the Girls Aloud star being a judge on the ITV talent show at the time.
Years later, they confirmed their romance in 2016 and went on to welcome their son Bear the following year, the Mirror reports.
Unfortunately, their relationship did not last but they remained amicable exes for the sake of their young child and were committed to co-parenting Bear up until Liam's heartbreaking death.
Cheryl, 41, paid tribute to her former love and son's father in a heart wrenching message on Instagram as she reminded fans that he was 'not only a pop star and celebrity' but also 'a son, a brother, an uncle, a dear friend and a father'.
Here, we take a look back at the timeline of Cheryl and Liam's love story from their first-famous meeting to how they ended up going their separate ways.
Meeting on The X Factor
Liam first wowed X-Factor Judges in 2008 with his rendition of Fly Me To The Moon when he was just 14-years-old, completely unaware that he was performing in front of his future love.
Cheryl, who is ten years older than him, said: "I like you, I think you're really cute" after Simon Cowell knocked him for not being 'fun' enough. She added: "You've got charisma, you gave us that little cheeky wink!"
Liam made it through to the judges house before he was booted from the competition
He then returned to the X-Factor two years later after his first audition to audition solo once more. Once again, Cheryl was on the judging panel and listened to Liam perform 'Cry Me A River'. She told the then 16-years-old star: "You've definitely got it. Whatever it is, you've got it. And your voice is really powerful."
This time, Liam made it through but as a member of the freshly formed boyband One Direction with Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Harry Styles. The band was placed in Simon's category.
At the time, Cheryl had been recovering from malaria with replacement judge Nicole Scherzinger being widely credited for her role in forming the boyband.
Reunion and love blossoms
In 2015, Cheryl and Liam reunited at The X-Factor final when One Direction appeared for one of their last performances ahead of their hiatus.
The pair were spotted cuddling up during an ad break, but the pictures didn't come to light for a few more weeks.
In 2016, Cheryl filed for divorce from her French husband, Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini, citing irreconcilable differences in the official paperwork.
Although her decree nisi didn't come through until October, Cheryl had already began carving out a life for herself as a single woman.
Liam later shared a snap of his new hand tattoo which at first did not seem to be particularly significant but as time went on it was clear his body art was a tribute to Cheryl's rose tattoo which she has on her bottom.
Amid speculation that he and the singer were dating, Liam posted a picture of a rose on his Instagram in February of that year, captioning it: "Happy Valentine's Day baby."
Instagram official
In March 2016, Liam shared a loved-up snap of him and Cheryl on his Instagram. One week later, he posted another throwback snap of Cheryl in honour of International Women's Day, telling fans that she was his "favourite woman in the world".
The following month, Cheryl was forced to deny claims that she had cheated on ex Jean Bernard with Liam towards the end of her marriage. She tweeted: "If anybody believes the s**t they're reading today, you really don't know me at all."
The couple then appeared together at the Global Gift Gala in Cannes, going public with their relationship in May 2016. Two days later, Liam confirmed they were the real deal by changing his Instagram profile picture to a sweet couple's snap.
By November of that same year, Cheryl parted ways with her management company Modest Management amid rumours she was going to launch a solo comeback in early 2017. Modest also looked after One Direction until the band split in January 2016.
However, that same month the couple made an appearance at the St James Christmas Carol Concert in London where Cheryl had a very prominent baby bump. The pair kept quiet about their happy news but fans were delighted for them.
Cheryl falls pregnant
Cheryl confirmed her pregnancy to her close family and friends in late November of that year but did not make a public statement.
On March 25, 2017 she confirmed the arrival of her and Liam's son Bear with his birth making them both parents for the first time. Bear has been largely kept out of the spotlight due to his celebrity child status with the couple opting to not share any snaps of his face.
Taking to Instagram at the time, Cheryl wrote: "On Wednesday 22nd March Liam and I became parents to an incredibly beautiful, healthy baby boy, weighing 7lb 9 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 word. A day that now has a different meaning to me forever."
Relationship problems
In October 2017, Liam revealed at the Pride of Britain Awards that he wouldn't be able to spend much time with Cheryl and Bear over Christmas due to work commitments after spending the summer promoting his first solo album.
He told The Mirror: "Cheryl is at home with him [Bear] now and my parents are on the way over, they're going to spend a week with us which is really nice because I'm not going to get to see them much in December so I told them they should come back and hang out with us."
However, just 11 months after Bear's arrival, the news broke that the couple were reportedly having relationship issues due to their lack of time together.
Cheryl was left with the majority of childcare duties while Liam worked away a lot which ultimately put strain on their romance.
A source told the Daily Mail in February 2018: "There are very real strains of trying to adapt to parenthood whilst being in the spotlight and having to appear as though everything is rosy all of the time. It's is fair to say at the moment there is a lot of pressure on both her and Liam. Being apart isn't helping that."
Bold statement
Deciding to not address the split rumours, the couple instead made a very public statement by attending the Brit Awards together in February 2018.
They appeared close as they walked the red carpet together, but were later pictured looking glum when they left the event.
Just weeks later, Liam admitted he and Cheryl were having "struggles" and that everything was not "fine and dandy". He told the Evening Standard's ES magazine : "The funniest thing was a week before we were getting married. The next week we're splitting up."
"And the thing for me is, I just like to think we're somewhere in the middle. You know, we have our struggles — like, of course, I'm not gonna sit here and say that everything's absolutely fine and dandy because, of course, you go through different things, and that's what a relationship is."
This was the first time either of them had acknowledged the speculation swirling around their relationship.
Candid truths
In 2018, Liam confessed he had felt 'pushed out' by his son's birth during an interview with Hashtag Legend.
Opening up to the publication, he said: "A mother and child is the most beautiful thing to watch, but they're the closest thing ever - and you'll never be as close. A lot of dads feel put out in that sense. I didn't really feel put out, but I was like, 'Where's my place?'. I was desperate to find out what I was meant to do."
He continued: "For me as a dad, you're just taking care of everything as much as you can, making sure he's got a smile on his face. And if you cook for her, she feeds him, so you're cooking for everyone – that's what my thing was.
"As daft as it sounds, cooking actually got me through fatherhood because it made me feel useful, rather than being the guy who just gets handed to change his nappy and make him laugh and giggle."
Sad split
Liam put himself in an awkward situation during a live radio interview in May 2018 as he told presenter Nick Grimshaw that Cheryl was "in the toilet".
He then said: "Oh, she's coming out now, one second. Let's find out what's going on. First off, was it a number one or two?" before quickly adding: "Erm, she says 'stop it'.
A source said at the time she was furious with Liam for humiliating her, and some fans believed this was the last straw.
In July, the pair announced they were going their separate ways after two and a half years together but vowed to remain close for the sake of their son.
A statement read: "We 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."
In November, Cheryl also declared she was 'done' with dating following two failed marriages and her split from Liam. During an appearance on Jessie Ware's Table Manners podcast, she explained: "I know what I want in life, but in the romantic area, I am not as evolved. That area has stopped. It's not happening anymore. It's the end. It's the end. I've got the man [Bear] in my life now."
Faithful admission
Despite their split, the pair shared no bad blood after Cheryl asserted that Liam was 'the only man who has ever been faithful to her' in a candid interview with The Sunday Times' Style magazine in 2018.
Cheryl, who has stuck to her word and not gone public with another relationship since her split from Liam, also expressed joy in her life as a single mum to young Bear. Speaking of how much she loves motherhood, she said: "I'm fulfilled. I'm not looking for anything any more. I'm whole. I've got the man of my dreams."
Sperm donor search
Cheryl announced she was looking for a sperm donor to have a second child in January 2020. She told The Times she had plans to conceive "more than one child" via a sperm donor and revealed that she was willing to go abroad to find the right outcome.
Liam showed his support for Cheryl's plans with a source telling New Magazine: "He gave Cheryl his full blessing – insisting he'd support her however he could and making her feel at ease with her decision by letting her know they'd be one big blended family."
They added: "Cheryl's come to peace with the decision to find a sperm donor and she's desperate to fall pregnant with twins – insisting that given she wants two more children, it will be far easier to do it once than go through the process again down the line."
Co-parenting together
In a May 2020 interview, Liam commented on an old clip of his X Factor audition with Esquire, remarking: "Let's address the elephant in the room… Obviously, the future mother of my son is sat in that chair."
According to reports, Cheryl was not pleased with him for bringing that up. That same month, Liam spoke about the impact having Bear had on his relationship with Cheryl as he told US YouTuber Logan Paul: "To be honest with you, it ruined a relationship at that point – but for all the right reasons. I was so excited for him to be born that I was actually worried if I wouldn't love him enough."
He also revealed that it had been scary when Bear was first born as Cheryl had "haemorrhaged quite badly" after the birth and Liam was left to care for their son for much of Bear's first day in the world.
He said: "It was me and a baby in the room, and I had to take care of him. It was fun." Discussing his relationship with Bear and their co-parenting agreement, he added: "I take my son to school one or two times a week, and it's the best thing.
"The relationship we [him and Cheryl] have now as friends has only grown more. We broke up for a reason, and now she gives me full autonomy of my life and to do what I do, and I know he's [Bear's] taken care of. He is all she cares about, and I couldn't ask for more."
In March of this year, Liam offered another rare glimpse into his family life. The late singer posted an Instagram snap which showed Bear in a yellow jacket as he gazed up a billboard advertising Payne's music.
The caption read, "I want to be on a billboard one day, Daddy." An insider told OK! at the time that Liam was ready for a fresh start, claiming: "We don't see a lot of Bear on Liam's social media, but I think he wants to prove to Cheryl that he's getting his life together.
"He really wants to be a good dad, and with Cheryl now going back on tour with Girls Aloud, she'll be busier than ever and won't be at home as much."
Sadly, Liam passed away just seven months later.
Tragic end and drugs 'nightmare'
Liam fell from the third balcony of his hotel in Buenos Aires and sadly passed away on October 16. In the aftermath of his fatal fall, toxicology tests found traces of alcohol, cocaine and an antidepressant in the star's system.
The 31-year-old has been very open and honest about the issues he'd had with drugs while he was still alive and fans had hoped that he would be able to beat his substance issues.
During a 2022 episode of the Diary of a CEO podcast with Steven Barlett, Liam opened up about darker times in his life as he recalled: "I was worried how far my rock bottom was going to be. Where's rock bottom for me? And you would never have seen it. I'm very good at hiding it. No one would ever have seen it."
Cheryl herself has long been vocal about her strong aversion to drug use following the devastating death of her beloved childhood friend to a heroin overdose. Budding footballer John Courtney was just 21-years-old when he passed away from an overdose in 2005, and the loss affected Cheryl profoundly.
Cheryl later said: "It put me off drugs for life. That nightmare devastated all John's family and friends." Following Liam's death, Cheryl issued a moving statement: "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."
She continued: "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.
"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."
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