Liam Payne and ex Cheryl Cole first crossed paths in 2008 but didn’t start their romance until much later.
In 2008, Payne auditioned to be on X Factor for the first time at age 14. Cole was one of the judges alongside Simon Cowell, Dannii Minogue and Louis Walsh.
“Let’s address the elephant in the room,” Payne said while rewatching his first audition in a segment for Esquire in May 2020. “Obviously, the future mother of my son is sitting in that chair. This is now an episode of How I Met Your Mother, so that’s enough of that I think.”
While Payne didn’t make it through the first time, he returned to the show two years later where Cole remained a judge. He became a member of One Direction, which went on to make boyband history.
Despite knowing each other during those early years, Cole and Payne’s connection didn’t turn romantic until nearly a decade later. The pair were first linked in 2016 after Cole’s split from ex-husband Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini.
The following year, Cole and Payne welcomed their first child, son Bear. In July 2018, Payne and Cole called it quits. The duo remained amicable as they coparented son Bear.
In October 2024, Us Weekly confirmed that Payne died at age 31 after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Keep scrolling for a look back on Payne and Cole’s relationship timeline:
2008
In his X Factor audition, Payne sang “Fly Me to the Moon” by Frank Sinatra. As he crooned the ballad, he winked at Cole. After completing his performance, Cole gushed over his talent and called him “really cute.” Payne made it to the next round but was cut by Cowell at the Judges’ Houses.
2010
Two years after his first rejection, Payne returned to the show where Cole was still a judge. He became a member of One Direction alongside Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik.
December 2015
Cole and Payne reunited at the X Factor finale where One Direction performed. The twosome shared a hug on stage.
February 2016
One month after Cole filed for divorce from Fernandez-Versini, rumors swirled that she and Payne were dating.
May 2016
The couple made their red carpet debut as an item at the Global Gift Gala in Paris. Cole was honored with the Global Gift Philanthropist Award. Payne took to X to gush about her achievement.
“So proud of her tonight 😘😘such a special award #GlobalGiftGala,” he captioned a selfie of him and Cole with her award.
March 2017
After one year of dating, the twosome announced they welcomed their son, Bear.
“On Wednesday 22nd March Liam and I became parents to an incredibly beautiful, healthy baby boy, weighing 7lb 9 and looking like a dream,” Cole wrote via Instagram at the time. “Although he still doesn’t have a name he is already stealing hearts. We are all madly in love and overwhelmingly happy with our little arrival. Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers around the world. A day that now has a different meaning to me forever 💙”
Payne shared his own announcement, gushing about becoming a father.
“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,” he penned. “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”
July 2018
Payne shared that he and Cole called it quits after two years of dating.
“Cheryl and I are sad to announce that we are going our separate ways. It’s been a tough decision for us to make,” he wrote via X. “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.”
April 2019
Less than one year after their split, Cole opened up about how she and Payne were tackling coparenting.
“[Liam is] much softer than me. But it is what it is, and I’m OK about it,” she said in an interview with The Telegraph. “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.”
May 2019
The following month, Payne exclusively told Us that while Bear is well-behaved, he does have his moments.
“Sometimes he’ll sort of have a go at his mum and I’ll be like, ‘Bear, stop it,’” he said. “He just wouldn’t listen to me today. … He just wants to silence me with his hand. He’s like, ‘Just give me a minute. I’m busy.’”
December 2019
While Payne moved on with Maya Henry, he shared that he planned on spending the holidays with Cole and his son.
“I’m going to go down and see Bear, maybe cook a Christmas dinner and just hang out with family,” Payne said on the ITV show. “I like to do Sunday roasts. It brings you back to normality. We’re going to go down and cook some good food and hang out.”
March 2020
In honor of the U.K.’s Mother’s Day, Payne penned a touching tribute for Cole.
“Double special day today thanks to 2 very special ladies and a very special little man,” he wrote via X. “Happy Mother’s Day mum and Cheryl you two are the most amazing mothers Bear and I could have asked for, thanks for raising me right and thank you Cheryl for showing my son all the love in the world.”
July 2023
Payne got candid about how thankful he was to have Cole and Bear by his side while he took a hiatus from the public eye.
“More than anything, I want to say thank you to him and his mum for giving me a little bit of freedom to go and get well in that moment because I had to. 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 very deeply and loving him deeply, which is obviously the most important thing.”
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