Liam Payne says he has ‘full autonomy’ over his life as Cheryl looks after son Bear

The former couple now live within minutes of each other

Saman Javed
Wednesday 01 June 2022 10:38 BST
Comments
Cheryl and Liam met on The X Factor in 2008
Cheryl and Liam met on The X Factor in 2008 (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Liam Payne has opened up about co-parenting with Cheryl, sharing how he plans to “always glue” himself to their five-year-old son Bear.

In an appearance on the Impaulsive podcast, hosted by Logan Paul, on Tuesday 31 May, Payne revealed that Cheryl has taken the reins on parenting Bear.

“She 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 said.

Payne said he regularly surprises his son and takes him to school once or twice a week.

“I love to take my son to school, it’s so much fun and I know he loves it too,” he told Paul.

“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!’,” Payne recalled.

“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.”

While Payne previously split his time between the UK and the US, he has now returned to the UK and lives just three minutes away from Cheryl and Bear.

“I always glue myself to where he is, I owe it to him. My life is now his, my money is his,” Payne said.

The former One Direction star disclosed that he is “in constant conversation” with himself about Bear’s future and has set up several companies which he will offer to his son.

“He can run them one day if he wants to, or if he wants, he can sell them. That’s his choice.”

Payne, 28, and Cheryl, 38, started dating in 2016 after first meeting on The X Factor in 2008, when Payne was a contestant and Cheryl a judge on the show.

The couple welcomed their son, Bear, in November 2016. They announced their separation in May 2018. Sharing the same statement to both of their Twitter accounts, the pair said they “still have so much love for each other as a family”.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in