Liam Payne, the late One Direction star who tragically passed away last week at just 31-years-old, could have been married to Cheryl Cole.
The singer fell from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires last week after travelling there to watch his former bandmate Niall Horan perform on his solo tour.
He leaves behind his seven-year-old son Bear, whom he shares with ex Cheryl. Despite not being romantically involved for several years, a clip from 2017 shows Liam referring to Cheryl as his wife during an interview with US radio station SiriusXM.
In the interview, Liam joked: “Yeah, exactly! I left my wife and child at home and I was straight out to In-N-Out burger – I’m just kidding – at home for an In-N-Out Burger.”
Simon Cowell’s brother, Tony, recently claimed that Liam “never stopped loving” Cheryl, even after their split in July 2018, reports the Mirror.
Tony expressed his sympathy for Cheryl and shared Louis Walsh’s devastation over Liam’s death in an interview with Closer.
Girls Aloud star Cheryl first encountered a young Liam when he auditioned as a 14-year-old solo artist on The X Factor, even giving her a saucy wink during his performance despite her being married to footballer Ashley Cole at the time.
It wasn’t until years later, Cheryl at 32 and Liam at the height of One Direction fame, that the pair connected and began dating.
Despite their split, Liam has often publicly expressed his admiration for Cheryl, particularly praising her parenting of their son, Bear. In the documentary ‘Liam Payne: Straight Talking’, he disclosed: “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 has reciprocated the feeling in kind, confiding to The Times about her trust in Liam and revealing that after One Direction, he desired to start a family.
Following the arrival of their son Bear, the couple endeavoured to maintain an amicable relationship despite going their separate ways, with Cheryl asserting that there is “no animosity” between them. Committed to protecting their son’s privacy, Cheryl has vowed, as per her Vogue interview, never to expose Bear’s face to the world, aiming to provide him with a “normal childhood”.
Cheryl’s representatives have been contacted for further comment on this story.
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