Liam Payne's special Christmas tradition with Bear and his tragic promise to Cheryl

Liam Payne and Cheryl Tweedy made sure they stuck to their Christmas traditions following their split so that their son, Bear, would always experience the festive magic

Liam Payne and Cheryl Tweedy always ensured they kept up heartfelt family traditions for their son Bear at Christmas.

Despite the pair separating when Bear was just a baby, they co-parented and always made sure he had a magical Christmas. Sadly, this year will be devastatingly different for seven-year-old Bear and Cheryl, 41, after the sad passing of the One Direction star, marking the first Christmas without him.

Liam, who will be laid to rest in a private funeral ceremony today, spoke previously about his love for celebrating the festivities with his son and Cheryl. The father-of-one was determined to make Christmas Day extra special for Bear and so they always spent it together as a family.

Opening up during a 2019 episode of This Morning, back when Bear was only two and a half years old, Liam revealed his plans to join Cheryl and their son for a Christmas meal. Liam shared: "I'm going to go down and see Bear, maybe cook a Christmas dinner and just hang out with family. Yeah, we're going to go down and cook some food and hang out."

Offering a sweet insight into his life as a young dad, Liam continued: "I think it's the first time he really gets Christmas now. I want to see if he actually gets unwrapping presents this year though, because otherwise, it'll just be Cheryl by the tree again. I can really remember it from last year, she wrapped them all up and then unwrapped them and I just sat there going, 'Right, what is this?''"

Even after ending their relationship, Cheryl, 41, and Liam never had a bad word to say about each other, and regularly praised each other's parenting skills. The former couple broke up shortly after Bear's first birthday but maintained an amicable co-parenting relationship - even living close to each other to make things easier.

Speaking on Logan Paul's podcast Impaulsive, Liam opened up about their positive arrangement, explaining: "I get to take my son to school one or two times a week and it's the best thing. The relationship we 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. They live like three minutes from my house. I always glue myself to where he is. My life now is his."

In a heartbreaking statement shared after Liam's death, Cheryl reflected on Bear facing 'the reality of never seeing his father again'. 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 seven-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. It is breaking my heart further that I cannot protect him from that in his future."