Moms and Dads

Remembering One Direction’s Liam Payne: The Young Dad & Part of A Comeback Era

by Kevyn Gohu
October 17, 2024

Survived by his ex-partner, Cheryl Cole, and son, Bear, Liam Payne will also be remembered by many zillennial and millennial fans.

We all remember at one point when boy bands suddenly made a comeback and Liam Payne was part of said group that brought that era back: One Direction. However, it seems like One Direction won’t be able to ever make a complete reunion with Liam Payne dying at 31 years old. The Teardrops singer died after a fall from a hotel, in Buenos Aires, Argentina with his identity only being fully confirmed after calling the time of death at 5 PM.

Liam Payne: A Loving Father to Bear

If there was one person Liam Payne genuinely loved, it was his son, Bear. While he and Cheryl Cole agreed to keep their son out of the public eye, Liam has alluded to Bear a few times. On the rare occasions that he does, they’re messages filled with the joy and pride found in fatherhood as he remarks how he [Bear] “looks like him” and is such a “big boy now.”

“As if we needed any more me in the world,” he joked one time in an Instagram clip while preparing to celebrate his 31st birthday.

Even when announcing his separation from Cheryl Cole, Liam emphasized that Bear was “their [Cheryl and Liam’s] world,” adding that they still had “much love” for one another as a family as they made their co-parenting arrangement. In an interview with People in 2018, Liam revealed his contentment with the current co-parenting arrangement with Bear staying with his mom in the UK.

“It’s for the best,” he reveals. “Babies want their mom; I would never have wanted to get in the way of that. It was actually easier to go out on the road just knowing he wanted his mom. Now he looks at me and points at me like, ‘Here’s this fun guy!’ He knows.”

The young father and son reportedly spent time with each other twice a week, sometimes, even thrice should schedules allow!

The best part was, Bear was one of his biggest fans — something that Liam shared was the “best feeling ever” to get as a singer. One of the posts on Instagram made by the late One Direction member was captioned, “I want to be on a billboard one day daddy 🐻 ❤️” with a photo of Bear looking at the billboard of Liam advertising his new single, “Teardrops.”

Finding strength in family

Liam Payne was reported to be fighting alcoholism, with the young dad often citing how Cheryl and Bear were helping him “focus on his health.” He had been sober for six months after his 100-day stay in a rehab facility in Louisiana, according to a video he uploaded on his YouTube to explain his being “MIA.” He took his role as Bear’s father seriously, amidst the battle against his addiction to alcohol.

“There’s no point trying to be a dad when you’ve got nothing to teach, and I don’t think up until this point I really had much to say to him, other than just caring for him deeply and loving him very deeply,” he shares.

As fans mourn for the singer, parents mourn for the young dad who wanted nothing but the best for his son.

As of now, the other members of One Direction have not made any comments regarding their former bandmate’s death.