Liam Payne's age when he became a dad and his heartbreaking final words about him

The late One Direction star Liam Payne, who was a doting father to his seven-year-old son Bear, tragically passed away after falling from the third floor of a boutique hotel in Argentina last month. The former X Factor sensation's funeral is expected to be held soon and will likely be an intimate gathering for family and friends, following numerous fan vigils globally in recent weeks.

Liam leaves behind his family and his son Bear, whom he had with ex Cheryl Tweedy in 2017, just a year before their separation. At the age of 23, Liam embraced fatherhood, and at 31, his life was cut short, reports the Mirror.

Cheryl, who is ten years older, was 33 when she gave birth to their "healthy baby boy."

On March 25, 2017, Cheryl took to Instagram to announce the arrival of their child, sharing a photo of Liam cradling the newborn. Her post read: "On Wednesday 22nd March Liam and I became parents to an incredibly beautiful, healthy baby boy, weighing 7lb 9 and looking like a dream. Although he still doesn't have a name he is already stealing hearts."

She added: "We are all madly in love and overwhelmingly happy with our little arrival. Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers around the world. A day that now has a different meaning to me forever."

In a past event, Liam Payne revealed that he and Cheryl took "a million pictures" of their son Bear, but chose not to share them online. He said: "[Cheryl] has her rest time bonding with Bear at the start. She's an incredible, a natural mum. We take a million pictures of Bear but we want him to be able to decide what he wants to share when he's older."

According to a 2020 interview with People magazine, Bear is said to bear a striking resemblance to his father.

Liam shared: "He looks exactly like me, which is very strange. When family members see baby pictures of me now, they say, 'Oh wow, Bear looks really great there! '" In a 2023 interview with British Vogue, Cheryl expressed her desire for Bear to have a normal childhood. She said: "I don't want people recognising him on the street. But he's twigged that I'm famous. The other day he said, 'How lucky am I to have famous parents? ' I said, 'It doesn't matter'. He goes: "Yeah.

But it's pretty cool'." In 2021, Liam revealed on The Diary Of A CEO podcast with Stephen Bartlett that they had taken measures to shield Bear from the darker side of fame. He said: "Obviously, we protected his identity to start off with, and that's not being pretentious or anything other than the fact that I want to give him a chance to be Bear first before he has to be, 'Oh, your mum and dad are so and so' you know.

And I made my choice to be where I was at 14 [or] 15, so I figure he can make his own choice then too. " In his 31st birthday celebration in August, Liam Payne shared a candid moment about his son on Instagram, saying: "I didn't get any dad socks yet though.

"I'm going to speak to my son in a little bit which I'm really excited about. Bless him.

"He's getting so big now. He's a big boy and he looks like a mini me. As if we needed any more me in the world." After Liam's tragic passing, Cheryl posted a previously unseen photo of him with their child alongside an emotional plea on Instagram.

The Girls Aloud singer asked for compassion and respect for Liam, shedding light on the immense loss she and their seven-year-old son, Bear, are grappling with. Her full statement read: "As I try to navigate this earth-shattering event and work through my own grief at this indescribably painful time, I'd like to kindly remind everyone that we have lost a human being.

Liam was not only a pop star and celebrity, he was a son, a brother, an uncle, a dear friend and a father to our 7 year old son. "Liam revealed they had taken steps to protect Bear from the darker aspects of fame in 2021. He told Stephen Bartlett on The Diary Of A CEO podcast: "A son that now has to face the reality of never seeing his father again.

What is troubling my spirit the most is that one day Bear will have access to the abhorrent reports and media exploitation we have seen in the past two days. It is breaking my heart further that I cannot protect him from that in his future."

She implored: "I am begging you to consider what use some of these reports are serving, other than to cause further harm to everyone left behind picking up the pieces. Before you leave comments or make videos, ask yourself if you would like your own child or family to read them.

"Please give Liam the little dignity he has left in the wake of his death to rest in some peace at last. Thank you, Cheryl.".