Liam Payne Is Survived By His Son Bear Following His Tragic Death at 31
"There's no point trying to be a dad when you've nothing to teach."
Updated Oct. 16 2024, 6:53 p.m. ET
Following's One Direction split in 2015, the guys went in all different directions — with some becoming fathers.
Louis Tomlinson was the first band member to become a dad in 2016. He currently shares son Freddie Reign Tomlinson with former flame Briana Jungwirth.
Next, Liam Payne welcomed his son Bear Grey Payne in 2017 with his then-girlfriend Cheryl Cole. Finally, Zayn Malik welcomed daughter Khai Hadid Malik with Gigi Hadid in 2020, but their relationship ended shortly after.
Sadly, Liam died after falling from his third-floor hotel balcony in Argentina on October 16, leaving behind his young son, Bear.
Since 2017, Liam Payne has been a father to son Bear Grey Payne.
Liam shares his son, Bear, with his ex-girlfriend Cheryl Cole. The former couple began dating in 2015 and ended things in 2018, a year after Bear was born.
Still, before his death, Liam was making an active effort to see him as much as possible. In March 2022, he told People, "I see him two times a week, three times a week sometimes." He added, "And I make sure when I see him, he has 100 percent of my time. I make sure that I'm not on my phone or d--king around somewhere else."
More recently, Liam credited his sobriety to his son.
In a video shared to YouTube in July 2023, Liam revealed that he was six months sober after checking into a 100-day rehab program in London.
He goes on to say his sobriety was spurred by wanting to be a better dad to his son.
"There's no point trying to be a dad when you've nothing to teach," he said before thanking Cheryl for "giving me a little bit of freedom to go and get well in that moment because I had to."
However, Liam kept his son out of the spotlight and rarely posted photos of the boy on social media. In March 2024, he did give fans a glimpse of Bear, with a shot that captured Bear looking at a billboard of Liam taken from behind.
"I want to be on a billboard one day daddy," he captioned the sweet moment. More recently, he brought up his son in a TikTok video with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy, as he was trying to guess what flag was pinned on her shirt.
"My son got an A in geography yesterday. I'll ask him," he gushed.
Liam also knows his son will be in good hands with his mom.
"She is the best mom in the world. I couldn't ask for someone better," he said on the Impaulsive podcast in 2022. "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."
He added, "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 is all she cares about and I couldn't ask for more. They live, like, three minutes from my house."
