Liam Payne hinted at heartbreaking reason for Cheryl split before tragic death

Liam Payne and Cheryl welcomed their son Bear in March 2017, but split just over a year later. The former One Direction star opened up about his struggles in a documentary

Liam Payne said fatherhood "messed" with his head and led to him struggling to understand what ex Cheryl was going through after their son's birth.

The former One Direction singer, who died after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina on Wednesday, left behind son Bear, who he shared with Cheryl. The pair split in July 2018, just over a year after the youngster's birth.

In the documentary 'Ant Middleton and Liam Payne: Straight Talking', he confessed: "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.

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The star said his understanding was further tested as he struggled to understand Cheryl's experiences as a new mum. He added: "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."

Bear's birth, Liam said in 2022, "ruined" the pair's relationship "for the right reasons" as he tried to discuss his own experience with other new dads. It came as Bear lived with Cheryl full-time while Payne worked on his own career.

Speaking on the Impaulsive podcast with Logan Paul, he explained: "I put my time in with my son and I also like to speak to people who are new dads also because you don't know what's coming and it's different.

"And, you know, to be honest with you, it ruined a relationship for me at that point but for all the right reasons, and it's like you think kids are a blank page [when] they're born.

"When Bear was first born I was so excited for him to be born, but I thought, what if I don't love him enough? It was such a worry for me."

Despite their split, Cheryl continued to be an integral part of his life. He said: "She's one of the most, if not the most, important people in my life. I'm lucky I have someone who understands what I'm going through."

Cheryl, who first rose to fame as a teenager on the reality show Popstars: The Rivals in 2002, first met Liam in 2008 when he was a hopeful contestant on The X Factor and she was a judge. Their paths crossed again in 2015 when he returned to perform with One Direction, reports the Daily Record.

The singer has previously praised Liam as the only man who hasn't cheated on her and has shared her perspective on their relationship. She revealed that after One Direction disbanded, Liam wanted to "settle down and have a family," but she encouraged him to pursue a solo career, "and then it didn't work out."

When asked if Liam had changed his mind about wanting a domestic life, she responded, "You'll have to ask him that."

However, she admitted that he found the transition from pop star to father challenging as his career took off. Like Liam, Cheryl holds no grudges and described their current relationship as "healthy". "There's no animosity whatsoever," she said.