I spent a lot of my life pretty f***ed up – but I’ll give every penny of my £50m fortune to my son Bear, says Liam Payne

SHE has been fiercely guarded about being a mother, only giving fans rare glimpses of her son Bear since his birth in 2017.

But now Cheryl Tweedy’s ex-boyfriend Liam Payne — the father of the five-year-old lad — has lifted the lid on their lives as co-parents following their split a year after the boy was born.

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In his most revealing interview to date, the former One Direction singer admitted he struggled to cope with becoming a dad.

And he said Cheryl, who is ten years his senior, helped him to adapt — despite Bear’s entry into the world being far more dramatic than either of them expected.

Liam, 28, said: “She haemorrhaged quite badly giving birth so she was asleep for the first day. It was me and a baby in the room and I had to take care of it.”

But he added: “She is the best mum in the world. I couldn’t ask for someone better. He is all she cares about and I couldn’t ask for more.”

Liam and Cheryl had a whirlwind two-year romance from 2016 — eight years after he had auditioned in front of her when she was a judge on The X Factor.

The Sun first revealed their budding romance after they were spotted holding hands at the Brit Awards.

And just a year later Cheryl revealed she was expecting their baby son. She made no secret of how much she struggled at the time, admitting that the pregnancy was not planned.

‘I chose to be famous aged 14’

Cheryl told The Sun: “I hated being pregnant. A lot of stuff went on and I just didn’t enjoy it. I didn’t stop for 14 years — literally on the roller-coaster. And then when I got pregnant I thought, ‘Right, I just don’t need this stress’.”

When she and Liam split, the pair said in a statement: “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.”

Co-parenting was not easy for the couple however and was made even more difficult by the pandemic. Speaking about lockdown in November 2020, Liam said he had not seen Bear for a long time and added: “It’s the longest I haven’t seen him in his life.

“But we discussed it from the start and for different reasons, me and Cheryl decided I should be away for a ­little bit. It’s not unusual for me to be in and out of his life. He’s a quiet and chilled child. He doesn’t worry about things too much.”

Now, Liam reveals, he is far more hands-on with his son and sees him regularly. And his relationship with 38-year-old Cheryl, who lives in a quiet Buckinghamshire village, has also improved.

He said: “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 I do what I do and I know he’s taken care of.

“I get to take my son to school one or two times a week and it is the best thing. I like to talk to young dads. You don’t know what is coming, and it’s different. And to be honest with you, it ruined a relationship at that point but for all the right reasons.”

I’ve protected his face since he was young. I chose to be famous when I was 14. I also know you can’t pop the lid back on.

Liam Payne

While Liam regularly jets around the world for his music career, he lives just three minutes from the £3.7million home Cheryl moved into in 2019.

Title deeds show that Liam is listed as one of two lenders for the property, which is in Cheryl’s name. He says that like Cheryl, he is keen to be a hands-on parent, rejecting life on the road for his son’s sake.

The idea of life touring the globe like his One Direction bandmates Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles, who are both currently criss-crossing America, does nothing for him any more. Nor does the thought of being No1 in charts around the world.

He said: “I’ve done that already. It doesn’t bother me one bit.” Despite countless accolades and hordes of fans hanging on his every word, Liam insists the best part of his life is his close bond with Bear.

Together with Cheryl, he has worked hard to keep their son out of the spotlight, only revealing a handful of images of the youngster’s hands or face online.

He said on Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast: “My life now is his, my money is his. I have several companies he can run if he wants one day, or he can sell. The scariest thing for me is him waking up one day and saying, ‘I want to be ­famous’. He is already — I will let him do whatever he wants.

“I’ve protected his face since he was young. I chose to be famous when I was 14. I also know you can’t pop the lid back on.”

‘I don’t want to tour – I’ve a son at home’

Liam has been open and honest about how much he has struggled with finding fame so young.

He was catapulted into the public eye when One Direction were runners-up on The X Factor in 2010 when he was just 16. As part of the group, Liam amassed a personal fortune of almost £50million and sold more than 70 million records worldwide.

When the group announced they were going on hiatus in 2015, Liam, who recently split from model fiancée Maya Henry, sought therapy. He recalled: “I spent a lot of my life pretty f***ed up . . . whatever the nasty beastie in my head wants to tell me, and that bit is hard to deal with.

“Now I’m happy with who I am and the person I have grown into. The biggest thing for me in ­therapy is being asked, ‘What do you enjoy in life?’ And I don’t really know as I just chose to enjoy the mini bar and trash up the hotel room. That was it.”

Liam went on to launch a solo career, with his debut album, LP1, charting at No17 in 2019. Despite his success, he admits that being at home — close to Cheryl and their son — is now his main priority.

The decision echoes that of Cheryl, who also stepped back from the public eye to focus on being a mum after the arrival of Bear.

Smiling, Liam added: “I don’t want to be a touring artist, I’ve got a son at home. I don’t want to travel the world on a bus and do whatever again.

“I’ve done it to death. I don’t want to be No1. It doesn’t bother me one per cent.”

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