Liam Payne and Cheryl’s whirlwind romance: From X-Factor reunion to co-parenting relationship

Liam Payne not only found love with Cheryl, but they also began the journey into parenthood together.

After initially meeting in 2008, romance didn’t blossom between them for another eight years.

While their relationship didn’t stand the test of time, they always had good things to say about each other after a whirlwind time together.

Read more: Liam Payne's eight-figure net worth and staggering estate left for son Bear

Read more: Liam Payne’s health battle and recovery: Difficult childhood illness, alcoholism and ADHD diagnosis

Here is their relationship timeline from their first meeting to their heartbreaking end:

2008:Liam was 14 years old when he made his television debut on The X Factor and auditioned for Simon Cowell, Cheryl and Louis Walsh. She referred to him as “cute” and said yes to him. Unfortunately, he was sent home by Simon after reaching Judges' Houses. Cheryl was married to footballer Ashley Cole at the time.

2010: Two years later Liam re-auditioned for The X Factor, taking Simon’s advice. He was sent through to Bootcamp again at 16 and was later put into a boy band with fellow contestants Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson, forming One Direction. The group came in third place. It was rumoured that Cheryl was dating Dancing with the Stars pro Derek Hough after divorcing Ashley around that period.

August 2014: Cheryl took part in the viral ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. She was married to Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini during this period and he poured the water over her head. She nominated Liam, along with Piers Morgan and fellow Girls Aloud star Nicola Roberts.

December 2015: Cheryl and Liam reunited during The X Factor final in 2015. One Direction appeared on the show to perform their song ‘History’. It was speculated at the time that Cheryl and Jean-Bernard had split months earlier, which they confirmed in January 2016. Rumours circulated that a romance was developing between her and Liam after they were spotted hugging during an ad break.

January 2016: Cheryl filed for divorce from Jean-Bernard. “Irreconcilable differences” was cited as the reason for the divorce in the filing.

14 February 2016: Liam posted a photo of a rose on Instagram and captioned it: “Happy Valentine's Day baby”.

24 February 2016: Liam commented “See you there babe” on a selfie Cheryl posted of her attending the BRIT Awards.

26 February 2016: A source claimed that Liam’s new hand tattoo of roses was linked to Cheryl’s famous rose tattoo on her lower back and buttocks which she got done in 2013. The source told The Sun at the time: “Cheryl and Liam are in a relationship. It was unexpected but they’ve both made each other incredibly happy.”

2 March 2016: The couple went Instagram official when Liam posted a photo with Cheryl. Around the same time, Cheryl jokingly took aim at the rumours about her love life by sharing a picture with three men, one of which was Liam. She captioned it: “My mystery man line up #whosthemysterman #whoisit #whosworthit.”

9 March 2016: Cheryl and Liam were seen out with her mum.

17 April 2016: Cheryl denied rumours that she cheated on Jean-Bernard with Liam. She tweeted: “If anybody believes the shit they're reading today you really don't know me at all.”

29 April 2016: Cheryl and Liam were spotted attending Rihanna’s concert in Las Vegas.

9 May 2016: The couple made their red carpet debut together at the Global Gift Gala in Paris. She was given the Global Gift Philanthropist Award on the night and Liam tweeted a picture of her and wrote: “So proud of her tonight. Such a special award #GlobalGiftGala”.

12 May 2016: They attended the Cannes Film Festival together.

11 June 2016: Liam and Cheryl were pictured at his sister Ruth's wedding.

9 July 2016: Cheryl confirmed that she and Liam adopted a chihuahua together.

July 2016: Rumours began circulating that Cheryl and Liam were expecting their first child together. Simon Cowell told The Mirror at the time: “Cheryl would be an amazing mum. I have seen her with my son Eric and other kids over the years and she is incredible. She is very good with them. I think she is in a good place in her life right now. I had dinner with her a couple of months ago with Liam and they were great.”

26 August 2016: A source claimed that Liam was asking for parenting advice from One Direction star Louis Tomlinson, who welcomed his own son in January 2016. The source told The Hollywood Reporter: “While Cheryl and Liam won't confirm if they are expecting a baby, Liam has been overly keen in asking Louis lots of baby-related questions of late.

“Even Louis thought it was strange himself and asked Liam if Cheryl was pregnant. Liam ducked the question, but it left Louis a little surprised that he was being quizzed about fatherhood so much.”

13 September 2016: Cheryl appeared in an advertisement for L'Oréal and fans dissected it for any clues.

20 September 2016: Liam posted a throwback photo of him and Cheryl and captioned it: “I miss you!.. the things you make me do. home soon!”

22 September 2016: An image of Cheryl was shared by her team, however, it was cropped above her waist.

26 September 2016: Cheryl's mother was photographed shopping at Mothercare.

2 October 2016: Cheryl appeared at a red carpet event for L'Oréal Paris’ party during Paris Fashion Week. She wore an all black outfit. People continued to speculate that she was pregnant.

27 October 2016: Cheryl was photographed with a baby bump.

29 November 2016: Cheryl and Liam were pictured together again when they attended The Fayre of St James's Church. She had a visible baby bump.

22 March 2017: Cheryl gave birth to her first child, but they kept it quiet.

25 March 2017: Cheryl and Liam announced the birth of their son, Bear. The Girls Aloud singer 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 world. A day that now has a different meaning to me forever”.

Liam said: “My close friends and family know there are very few times when I'm left speechless... wow!I'm incredibly happy to welcome our new baby boy into the world, it's a moment that I will never forget for the rest of my life and my favourite memory I have so far. I'm completely in awe of his incredible mother and how she has been the whole way through this, she's really made my dreams come true. We haven't named him yet but he's already capturing hearts including mine. I feel very blessed.Happy Mother's Day everyone!”

20 October 2017: Liam released a song called 'Bedroom Floor'. He confirmed that it was about how Cheryl tried to break up with him.

He told The Sun: “There’s one song that is basically a phone call that happened between me and her when she was about to let it go.

“This is a long time ago. And it’s basically me trying to cling on and say, ‘No, no, no it’s all going to work out, don’t worry about it, give it time.’”

9 February 2018: Engagement rumours started to fly after Cheryl was seen wearing a large diamond ring during an appearance at an anniversary celebration of The Trust's partnership with L'Oreal Paris.

14 February 2018: Liam posted a Valentine's Day tribute to Cheryl. It featured a cropped image of their son Bear wearing a t-shirt that read: “Bear is mummy’s little Valentine”. Liam captioned it: “Happy Valentine's Day @cherylofficial and everyone. looks like I've got the big guy to compete with now”.

18 February 2018: Reports emerged that Cheryl and Liam were nearing the end of their relationship. A source told the Mail On Sunday at the time: “It's very sad – they tried very hard to make it work. They're desperate to make a go of it but it's absolutely on the rocks.”

They added: “It's very difficult for them and extremely sad. Things go from being very calm to being very tough.

“The crux of the problem is that Liam has to be away a lot. Cheryl has always understood he would have to work hard and be absent but the reality is that it's not an easy thing to deal with. This relationship is hanging by a thread. Both of them are devastated.”

Another source claimed: “Both of them desperately want it to work but it doesn't look like things are going to end as they wished.

“Their main concern is Bear and making sure that he remains the happy little boy he is.”

20 February 2018: New reports claimed that the couple disagreed over getting married.

A source told The Sun: “Liam is smitten with his little boy and wants things to work between him and Cheryl, so thought talk of marriage was a positive step,' a source has now claimed.

“But she just doesn't seem to be thinking in the same sort of way and has made it clear that's not on the cards at the moment, which he saw as a real snub.

“'That's put pressure on her and the relationship and they've drifted apart. Nobody is sure if they'll be able to pull things back from the brink."

July 2018: Cheryl and Liam announced that they had broken up and were focused on their son Bear.

Liam said: “Cheryl and I 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.”

While Cheryl wrote: “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.”

June 2022: Liam opened up about his co-parenting relationship with Cheryl on the Impaulsive podcast.

He stated that Cheryl “gives me full autonomy of my own life to be able to go and do what I do, and at the same time I know [Bear] is being taken care of because he is all she cares about.”

He added: “I love to take my son to school, it’s so much fun and I know he loves it too. The other day he was asleep, and his mum said to him ‘morning sunshine’. And then my deep voice came in saying ‘morning’ and he went ‘huh!’

“And he went ‘wow daddy, that was the biggest surprise of my life, you being here today’. That’s the best s***t, taking care of him and watching him grow.”

16 October 2024: Liam passed away due to injuries he sustained after falling from a third floor balcony in a hotel in Argentina.

18 October 2024: Cheryl released a statement and asked for privacy on behalf of her son Bear.

It read: “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.

“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," she continued. "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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