Teamwork makes the dream work! Though Cheryl Cole and Liam Payne’s romance did not pan out, they’ve remained dedicated coparents to their son, Bear.
The former Girls Aloud performer and Payne began dating in February 2015, nearly two years before Cole confirmed her pregnancy.
“My close friends and family know there are very few times when I’m left speechless… wow!” the One Direction alum captioned an Instagram photo with his newborn son in March 2017. “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. We haven’t named him yet but he’s already capturing hearts including mine. I feel very blessed. Happy Mother’s Day everyone!”
After more than two years together, the twosome announced their split in July 2018.
“Cheryl and I are sad to announce that we are going our separate ways,” the “Strip That Down” crooner tweeted at the time. “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.”
Since then, the England natives have continued coparenting, marveling at Bear’s many milestones along the way.
“Sometimes he’ll sort of have a go at his mum and I’ll be like, ‘Bear, stop it,’” Payne exclusively told Us Weekly in May 2019, noting he and the former X Factor judge got “really lucky” to have a well-behaved little one. “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.’”
He continued: “My mum brought all my old toys to the house, and then Cheryl came one day to my house and she was like, ‘Oh, he’s playing with this red car all the time. It was yours.’ I was like, ‘Is it a Jaguar?’ And it was my favorite car when I was [young]. So he’s literally like a little me.”
In addition to raising Bear, the “Bedroom Floor” musician eventually moved on with Maya Henry, getting engaged in August 2020. After a brief split in June 2021, the twosome reconciled that October. Us later confirmed in May 2022 that they split for good amid photos of Payne getting cozy with another woman.
“I love all of the fans so much but please stop sending me these pictures of my fiancé wrapped around another woman,” the Texas native wrote via Instagram comment at the time. “This is not me and it’s hard enough knowing this has happened without seeing it. Enough now.”
Scroll below for more of Cole and Payne’s honest quotes about coparenting: