Cheryl Cole is speaking out about the death of her ex-boyfriend, Liam Payne.
On October 16, the former One Direction band member died at 31 years old after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina. Two days later, the mother of his seven-year-old son, Bear, pleaded with her followers to grant the singer “dignity” in the “wake of his death.”
“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,” the 41-year-old singer and former member of Girls Aloud wrote on Instagram alongside a black-and-white photo of Payne and Bear. “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. A son that now has to face the reality of never seeing his father again.”
Liam Payne and Cheryl Cole began dating in 2016, eight years after meeting during Payne’s X Factor auditions at 14 years old. The pair split in 2018, just 16 months after welcoming their son in March 2017. “We broke up for a reason and now, she gives me full autonomy of my own life to be able to go and do what I do and at the same time I know he’s been taken care of because he’s all she cares about,” Payne said on Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast in 2022. “You couldn’t ask for more.”
In her Instagram note, Cole reminded her followers that Bear will one day be able to see and understand the “abhorrent reports and media exploitation” surrounding his father’s death, as well as any videos and comments left by fans during the frenzy. “Ask yourself if you would like your own child or family to read [your posts],” she wrote, adding, “Please give Liam the little dignity he has left in the wake of his death to rest in some peace at last.”
You can read her full message, here:
Instagram/@cherylofficial
