In the six years between Liam Payne‘s split from Cheryl and the singer’s untimely death in Argentina, he became engaged to model Maya Henry and was reportedly talking marriage with his girlfriend of two years, Kate Cassidy, before he died.
But despite moving on romantically from the Girls Aloud singer, the One Direction star made his feelings very clear, hailing her as ‘the most important person’ in his life, and praising her for always being there for him, despite their split.
The former couple lived just minutes away from each other and before his death Liam revealed their relationship was stronger than ever, describing Cheryl as ‘the best mum in the world’ to co-parent with.
Cheryl, of course, now has the heartbreaking task of raising her son without his father, but this week brought a new dimension to that task when it was revealed that Liam died without leaving a will.
It means that his £24million fortune will go to Bear, and Cheryl has been named administrator, meaning she will be entrusted with protecting the money for her son.
Of course, it is impossible to say whether Liam, 31, had considered this outcome when thinking about his affairs, but regardless Cheryl, 41, has been entrusted with a huge responsibility on behalf of her ex-partner.
Cheryl and LIam at the Global Gift Gala in Paris in 2016 when their relationship had just been made public
While she was also always complimentary about her co-parenting relationship with Liam, calling him a ‘great dad’ to son Bear (pictured with Bear)
Meanwhile, the lack of will means that Liam did not make any direct provision for his father Geoff and mother Karen, his two sisters and wider family, or other loved ones such as his partner Kate Cassidy.
But perhaps it seems appropriate that the responsibility of dealing with his estate has gone to Cheryl, along with music industry lawyer Richard Mark Bray, given the depth of their bond.
Liam couldn’t help gushing about his former partner in interviews saying that he ‘couldn’t ask for more’ in the mother of his child.
While Cheryl has always been more guarded, the remarks she did make about Liam publicly were telling.
In a 2018 interview, she claimed he was the only man who had never cheated on her, and she has never publicly dated anyone since they split up in 2018.
Liam and Cheryl first met when Liam auditioned for The X Factor back in 2008 as a fresh-faced 14-year-old.
Cheryl and Liam in the early days of their relationship. The pair were smitten despite an age gap of 10 years
Speaking to MailOnline in 2019, Cheryl insisted that things were going good with Liam and that they were navigating their way through parenthood well
Rumours of a romance emerged in 2016 when Liam shared a picture of a tattoo on his hand, thought to be a tribute to Cheryl’s giant rose tattoo on her lower back and posterior.
In March 2016, they became ‘Instagram official’ and months later, made their first public appearance at Cannes Film Festival and after more rumours, it was confirmed that Cheryl was pregnant with their son Bear.
However, in July 2018, Cheryl confirmed she and Liam had sadly split in a tweet, writing: ‘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.’
But despite ending things romantically, the pair continued to be bonded through their son, and stayed close over the years as they co-parented Bear, with Liam later declaring: ‘Cheryl’s always there for me.’
Even after they called time on their romance, the pair kept up an amicable relationship for the sake of Bear – living just minutes apart.
Liam purchased a £3.2million mansion in Chalfont St Giles in November 2021, that was just three minutes’ drive away from Cheryl’s home in Buckinghamshire, so he could see his son frequently.
Even before they got together, Liam was open about his admiration for Cheryl, repeatedly naming her as his celebrity crush.
His first audition on the X Factor, when he was just 14, saw him even give a then 24-year-old Cheryl a cheeky wink during his performance.
Reflecting on the moment to The Sun years later, he admitted: ‘I always, always had a crush on her. I got back to school the next day and when my friends saw it they were literally ripping the p*** out of me.’
In March 2016, they became ‘Instagram official’ and months later, made their first public appearance at Cannes Film Festival and after more rumours, it was confirmed that Cheryl was pregnant with their son Bear (pictured 2016)
But despite ending things romantically, the pair continued to be bonded through their son, and stayed close over the years as they co-parented Bear, with Liam later declaring: ‘Cheryl’s always there for me’ (pictured with Bear)
After the pair welcomed son Bear in March 2017, Liam took to his Instagram to announce the joyful news and paid special tribute to his then-girlfriend for ‘making his dreams come true.’
He gushed: ‘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.’
In 2017, Liam gave a tell-all interview to The Sun about parenthood and his relationship with the former Girls Aloud singer, praising her for being such a hands-on mother and insisting on not hiring a nanny.
He revealed that he had been letting Cheryl take the lead when it came to night feeds and looking after their baby son, gushing she had a ‘super power’ as a woman.
He admitted: ‘At this stage as a dad, you’re in a bit of a whirlwind. I’ll be honest with you, she’s doing it all herself at the moment because she wants to know what it feels like when I’m not there.
‘She knows that I’m going on tour, so obviously she’s got a lot to deal with. Which is hard. I thought that I’d get the call saying, we need a nanny for this, but no, she’s doing everything. She’s really pushing herself with it, bless her.
‘We did a rota over the night feeds, and then she was like, I want to do…because she used to wake up anyway. She said there’s no point in us both being tired and there’s gonna be points in the day when I need you to be on it, so I need you awake.’
His first audition on the X Factor, when he was just 14, saw him even give a then 24-year-old Cheryl a cheeky wink during his performance (seen)
In 2017, Liam gave a tell-all interview to The Sun about parenthood and his relationship with the former Girls Aloud singer, praising her for being such a hands-on mother and insisting on not hiring a nanny (pictured in 2018)
While he later claimed that the couple had become so close they’d developed the power to communicate without speaking to one another when it comes to caring for Bear.
He said at the time: ‘[Bear] sleeps in our room now, I can feel when Cheryl wants me to look after him in the night even if she doesn’t say it.’
Even after their split, Liam’s praise of Cheryl never diminished, with the Strip That Down star naming her one of the ‘most important people in my life’.
Speaking on Logan Paul‘s Impaulsive podcast back in 2022, he praised his ex and gave an insight into their co-parenting, as he declared her ‘the best mum in the world’ and said their relationship is even better as friends.
He gushed: ‘She is the best mum in the world. I couldn’t ask for someone better. 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 Bear’s taken care of.
‘He’s all she cares about and I couldn’t ask for more. They live, like, three minutes from my house.’
The former couple would even sometimes spend Christmas together as a family, with Liam revealing in 2019: ‘I’m going to go down and see Bear, maybe cook a Christmas dinner and just hang out with family. I like to do Sunday roasts. It brings you back to normality.
Even after their split, Liam’s praise of Cheryl never diminished, with the Strip That Down star naming her one of the ‘most important people in my life’ (seen in 2016)
‘We’re going to go down and cook some good food and hang out. I think it’s the first time Bear 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.’
And in his documentary, Ant Middleton and Liam Payne: Straight Talking, he opened up on how fatherhood had changed him, while admitting that he and Cheryl were protective of each other and that she was ‘always there for me’.
He said: ‘Becoming a dad at such a young age, it’s such a difficult thing. And I think I built fatherhood up so much in my head that it kind of messed me up to start with.
‘I started in a bad place with it. I think it spooked me out early on, and I was just worried I would not be enough to look after the both of them.
‘They’re so important to me – Cheryl as well. She’s one of the most, if not the most, important people in my life.
‘Even though we’re not together, Cheryl’s always there for me. I’m lucky I have someone who understands what I’m going through.
‘The one thing I was missing as a man in the relationship I had, was a level understanding about what she was feeling about stuff.
‘I think I learnt through being away that, while I want to protect her, there’s a big part of her that wants to protect me.’
And when Liam revealed in July last year, that he had completed 100 days in a Louisiana rehab after hitting ‘rock bottom’, he have a special thanks to his ex for her support.
In a candid YouTube video, he said: ‘More than anything, I want to say thank you to [Bear] and his mum for giving me a little bit of freedom to go and get well in that moment because I had to’.
In March last year, an insider told OK! that Liam was ready for a fresh start with Cheryl after his struggles, saying: ‘I think he wants to prove to Cheryl that he’s getting his life together.
‘He really wants to be a good dad and with Cheryl now going back on tour with Girls Aloud, she’ll be busier than ever and won’t be at home as much.’
And following his death, Simon Cowell’s brother Tony Cowell declared that Liam had ‘never stopped loving Cheryl’ despite their romance ending.
He told Closer magazine: ‘We are devastated. I also feel for Cheryl, as I know Liam never stopped loving her and Bear. It’s going to be so difficult for her. I can’t imagine her pain.’
While Cheryl has opened up less on her relationship with Liam over the years, she was always full of praise for the star, even after they had separated.
During their relationship, she often took to her social media to show her support for the singer, sharing smouldering photos of him to Directioners’ delight.
While Cheryl has opened up less on her relationship with Liam over the years, she was always full of praise for the star, even after they had separated (seen in 2016)
While she also used her Twitter page to promote his singles Strip That Down and Bedroom Floor to her millions of followers.
Despite their split, Cheryl continued to speak highly of Liam, publicly declaring that he was the ‘only man who has ever been faithful to her’, shortly after they broke up.
In the frank interview with The Sunday Times’ Style magazine in 2018, the pop star said she had been disappointed by every important man in her life, including her father, brother and ex-husbands, leaving her with ‘zero’ interest in a new relationship.
Her previous relationships include her first marriage to footballer Ashley Cole, which was rocked by claims of his infidelity, while her second appeared to fare no better after she hinted that ex-husband Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini cheated on her.
Calling her son ‘the man of her dreams’, Cheryl said she would happily be single for ever, adding: ‘I do seriously think I might be, I do.
‘I would never ever say never, obviously, but I have zero – I tell you, zero – desire to start up a new relationship.’
And in the seven years since her relationship with Liam ended in July 2018, Cheryl hasn’t publicly dated anyone else.
She’s also gone so far as previously declaring she didn’t need a man to expand her family – instead preferring the idea of using a sperm donor.
In 2020, the singer said she felt she was running out of time to find a partner and planned to have ‘more than one’ child with fertility treatment.
‘If time was on my side and I was in my twenties, yeah, I would wait and consider more options, or wait for somebody I felt was right,’ she told The Times Magazine.
‘You could meet somebody and for that year it feels incredible, but there is never a guarantee because there are so many variables that can happen. Life is a funny old game.’
While she was also always complimentary about her co-parenting relationship with Liam, calling him a ‘great dad’ to son Bear.
Speaking to MailOnline in 2019, Cheryl insisted that things were going good with Liam and that they were navigating their way through parenthood well.
She said: ‘There’s no animosity whatsoever. We are learning all the time. And it’s good, it’s healthy.
‘We’re just like any other couple that have gone through this, but we have a few more eyes watching us… Just a few.’
And later that year she opened up on their parenting styles, admitting that Liam was the ‘softer’ one.
In an interview with The Telegraph, she explained: ‘I’m the strict one; Liam isn’t. I’ll be the one saying “just one square of chocolate,” but Bear is so good.
The singer was said to be ‘dreadfully sad’ by a source close to the Payne family, who added that she and Liam were bonded for life through their son (seen at funeral)
‘If I get cross with him he puts his little hands on my face and looks into my eyes to see if I’m deadly serious or a tiny bit cross, and it melts my heart.’
Cheryl went on to fondly add: ‘Liam is a great dad. He’s much softer than me’.
Referencing their parenting after the split, she told the outlet: ‘It is what it is, and I’m OK about it. When you have a baby, you are not consumed with just thinking about yourself.
‘It’s your responsibility to keep things settled and happy, so you make the best of everything. And we have.’
The strength of Cheryl and Liam’s bond was once again visible in the wake of his tragic death.
The singer was said to be ‘dreadfully sad’ by a source close to the Payne family, who added that she and Liam were bonded for life through their son.
They said: ‘She is devastated. She has her own grief but she also has a little boy who won’t see his daddy again and that is just heartbreaking.
‘While she and Liam split a long time ago, they were bonded over their love of Bear. Liam died in such a horrible way but the family wanted to remember him in the most perfect way possible.’
Paying tribute to Liam on Instagram, Cheryl spoke of her ‘indescribable pain’ over telling Bear his father had passed away
Paying tribute to Liam on Instagram, Cheryl spoke of her ‘indescribable pain’ over telling Bear his father had passed away.
Her statement 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 seven year old son.
‘A son that now has to face the reality of never seeing his father again.’
While it is believed that she helped Liam’s family to plan his funeral, and this was reflected in the choice of St Mary’s Church in Amersham for the service.
Cheryl walked behind her ex’s coffin following a poignant private service attended by family members and a host of stars from the world of music and sport.
At the time it was reported that the Girls Aloud star was grappling with her own grief, while being strong for her seven-year-old son and that she would be doing everything she can to ensure that Bear never forgets his father.
And it is said that she will continue to do everything to follow by Liam’s wishes for their son, following the news this weeks that Bear is set to inherit his father’s entire £24million fortune.
Cheryl walked behind her ex’s coffin following a poignant private service attended by family members and a host of stars from the world of music and sport
And it is said that she will continue to do everything to follow by Liam’s wishes for their son, following the news this weeks that Bear is set to inherit his father’s entire £24million fortune
Cheryl has been granted the power of administration over Liam’s estate, as he died without leaving a will.
He was therefore declared intestate, meaning that as an unmarried parent his estate is shared between any children.
It is therefore likely that the fortune Liam made during his boyband years and which, despite his drug and alcohol addictions, he managed to cling on to, will be placed in a trust for eight-year-old Bear.
The star left a total of £28,595,000, which was later reduced to £24,280,000 after his expenses and debts were paid, according to court documents.
Friends of the former One Direction singer expressed how he was adamant to make sure his only son would be well looked after in the event anything happened to him.
And those who know Cheryl have insisted that ‘she will always do the right thing by her beloved son’ and thereby Liam.
Friends of the former One Direction singer expressed how he was adamant to make sure his only son would be well looked after in the event anything happened to him (Bear pictured)
‘It is a small consolation that Bear will never want for anything, that he will at least benefit from that,’ a source close to the late singer told the Mail.
The source added: ‘Liam had some very sensible people around him for a time and he adored Bear so much. He always wanted to do the right thing by him financially.’
Liam’s estate was published as a limited Ad Colligenda Bona grant, which is commonly applied for during the sale of a deceased person’s property, where the deceased’s executors may have found a buyer for the property shortly after the death.
Cheryl was named in the legal documents alongside Richard Bray, a top music lawyer with a track record of representing stars including Ed Sheeran.
