When Liam Payne tragically died in 2024 after falling from a 3rd floor balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the press had a field day.
There were rumours flying around in all directions. Was he pushed? Was it suicide? Was he on drugs? Had he been arguing with his girlfriend? Little to no thought was given to his family who had just lost a loved one.
There was one person in particular his death would cause lifelong trauma for – Liam’s son, Bear.
The poor kid was just 7 years old at the time.
Liam and Bear’s Mum, Cheryl Cole, have always gone to great lengths to keep Bear out of the press. While they have shared some images on social media, they have always been from behind, or just of Bear’s hands or feet. Nothing that could identify him.
However, while Liam and Cheryl are hesitant to share images of their son online, they are perfectly happy to talk about him in interviews and such. Therefore, we know a fair bit about young Bear even if we wouldn’t recognise him in the street.
Why He is Called Bear
His unusual name is a pretty good place to start.
It’s not uncommon for celebrities to choose left field names for their children. Something about trying to stand out and be special perhaps, who knows.
However, Liam has revealed that he wasn’t all that keen on the idea of an unusual name. He wanted something more traditional. It was Cheryl who wanted to go down the more unconventional route.
When he was born, Bear didn’t have a name. They couldn’t make their minds up on what to call him.
When Cheryl suggested Bear, Liam didn’t really understand it and wasn’t keen to begin with. But he came round to the idea. He liked that it was a name people wouldn’t forget after Bear left a room, but it also harked back to his birth.
When he was born, there was some concern that he had fluid in his lungs. He kept making a sort of growling noise, and one of the midwives playfully called him a bear. Lots of doctors looked into it and it turned out the baby was fine, he just liked making noises! Maybe he was trying to sing, like his parents.
Anyway, that’s where the name came from.
Liam’s Struggles With Fatherhood
There is absolutely no question that Liam loved his son unconditionally. He is on tape and on camera countless times talking about his love for his son, and his pride in being a father.
But that doesn’t mean he found the transition into fatherhood easy.
Liam always wanted to be a young father, but as every Dad knows, the reality of fatherhood isn’t all beautiful bonding moments and memory making photo opportunities.
He has been candid about his initial struggles after Bear was born, and how he had to learn to be a father over time.
He once said:
“I had my son at a young age, and you think it will be a magical thing, that you’re going to grow up one day into the person you’re supposed to be, but it took a lot to find my footing.”
What made things more difficult, was that he and Cheryl Cole split up a year or so after Bear was born. It was an amicable split, and they both held a lot of affection for one another even after the break up, but it meant Liam’s time with Bear was reduced.
The fact that his job meant he travelled a lot didn’t help, and even though he lived down the road from his son, when COVID hit in 2020 he was limited to Facetime contact for a while. As we all know, children don’t have much patience for video calls.
When the world went back to normal Liam’s relationship with his son could get back to some sort of regular routine, but even then, it was limited to two or three visits a week.
Liam made sure the time he spent with Bear was quality time, though.
He explained:
“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 dicking around somewhere else. So, I like to give him those moments and it’s important, he needs that in his life, he needs his dad in his life, and I’m happy he looks at me like a superhero, and I’m hoping to keep it that way.”
In another interview, he shared that Bear spotted him on a billboard once, and said that he wanted “to be on a billboard one day Daddy” – so it certainly seems like Bear will remember his Dad as a superhero.
Bear is Kept Out of the Public Eye
Before Liam’s death, Bear was kept well out of the public eye, and now his Dad is gone I can only imagine this will continue.
No family wants to grieve in public, so it makes sense that Liam’s loved ones would ‘go to ground’ for a while following his death. For example, Cheryl Cole uploaded a statement to Instagram two days after the news broke, but at the time of writing (over 6 months later) has not posted again.
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Liam’s parents have only really spoken out to criticise the media’s handling of the tragedy. Other than that they have been private.
When people are hurting, they want to be left alone, and this has obviously means that Bear has not been seen or mentioned since, either. His family want to protect him as any family would. The last thing that a child needs when they have just lost their Dad is paparazzi or random strangers approaching them in the street, or at the park, or in front of their school.
Liam once said in an interview that he wanted to give his son “a chance to be Bear first, before he has to be, ‘oh, your mom and dad are so and so’ you know” – Cheryl has made similar comments.
Now Liam is gone, I imagine the people around Bear will double down on that sentiment.
