Why did Liam Payne and Cheryl Cole break up? Age gap between Girls Aloud singer and former One Direction member explored

On October 16, 2024, Liam Payne lost his life after a tragic fall from the balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires. Payne was staying at the Casa Sur Hotel, with his room located on the third floor.

Liam was in Argentina on a vacation with his influencer girlfriend, Kate Cassidy for a week. However, Cassidy reportedly flew back to Florida four days before the accident took place. The singer is survived by Cassidy and Bear, a seven-year-old son that he shared with his ex-girlfriend, Cheryl Cole.

Liam Payne and Cheryl Cole were 10 years apart in age, and had first met in 2010 on The X Factor. While he was a contestant on the reality music show, she was a judge. The former couple started dating later in 2016 and parted ways in 2018, eleven months after the birth of their son.

Around the time of their break up, a source close to the couple told Daily Mail that distance coupled with new parenthood was the alleged reason behind the split. While Liam had tour schedule in the US then, Cheryl reportedly stayed at home with Bear.

In February 2018, the source told the same publication:

"There are very real strains of trying to adapt to parenthood whilst being in the spotlight and having to appear as though everything is rosy all of the time. It's is fair to say at the moment there is a lot of pressure on both her and Liam. Being apart isn't helping that."

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Cheryl Cole first met Liam Payne as an X Factor contestant

Liam Payne and Cheryl Cole first met during the selection rounds of The X Factor in 2010 when Payne - 15 at the time - was a contestant, Meanwhile, Cole, 25, was one of the judges on the panel.

Payne reconnected with Cole in December 2015 when he performed on The X Factor, alongside One Direction members. The two started dating soon afterward. The couple announced Cheryl's pregnancy in 2016, and welcomed their son, Bear, into the world on March 25, 2017.

Cole had been married twice before dating Liam. She and Liam Payne announced their break up on X in July 2018, saying:

"We are sad to announce that we are going our separate ways. 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."

Despite their breakup, Cole said Liam was "the only man who has ever been faithful" to her, during an interview with The Sunday Times Style magazine in November 2018.

Elsewhere in her interview, Cheryl Cole said:

"I would never ever say never, obviously, but I have zero – I tell you, zero –desire to start up a new relationship."

The singer also claimed that she had already found the "man of her dreams," which was her son, Bear, and with him by her side, she would happily be single forever.

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Liam Payne talked about fatherhood changing his relationship with Cheryl Cole in 2022

In May 2022, the Both Ways singer was invited on Paul Logan's Impaulsive podcast. During the conversation, the singer opened up about how becoming a father changed his relationship with Cheryl Cole:

"You don't know what is coming and it's different. And to be honest with you, it ruined a relationship for me at that point but for all the right reasons. I was so excited for him to be born that I was actually worried if I wouldn't love him enough."

However, he didn't appear to regret the way things turned out and also complimented Cole on her parenting skills. He said:

"She is the best mum in the world. I couldn't ask for someone better... 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 he's [Bear's] taken care of."

Liam Payne continued, revealing how Bear was all Cheryl cared about, and he couldn't have asked for more. They also lived three minutes from the Polaroid singer's house, who preferred to always glue himself to where his son was. He further said:

"My life now is his. My money is his. He's a lovely, lovely boy. We've been blessed."

Payne was 23 when he first became a father, while Cheryl was 33. Despite her past two marriages, Bear was the her first child as well.

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After Liam Payne's death, Cheryl Cole shared a grieving note on Instagram, describing it as an "earth-shattering event." She also asked the media to stop exploiting the news of his death.