Cheryl Tweedy has endured one of life's greatest tragedies following the death of her child's father, Liam Payne, 18 months ago. In the heartbreaking months since, the 42-year-old singer has remained fiercely private to protect and support their nine-year-old son, Bear.
A Tragic Loss
The One Direction star died at age 31 in 2024 after falling from a third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In a statement at the time, Cheryl expressed 'indescribable pain' when she told Bear his father had passed away.
The pair have attempted to cope with their grief by spending quality time with Liam's immediate family and keeping his memory alive. Cheryl and Liam split in 2018 when Bear was a toddler, but the former Girls Aloud star maintained contact with his parents Geoff and Karen, as well as his two sisters Ruth and Nicola. Bear also gets on well with Ruth and Nicola's children.
A Healing Trip to Disney World
Cheryl, Bear, and the Paynes made a joint visit last month to Walt Disney World in Florida, which was Liam's 'favourite place on earth.' In a social media post, Cheryl said: 'Somewhere in the corners of the world Magic still exists. I don’t know what took me so long to experience the joys of @waltdisneyworld but I completely escaped into my inner child for the last couple of weeks.'
Heartwarming family photos show the singer holding Bear's hand as they walk through Toy Story Land in the park. She added: 'What a wonderful place.'
Liam's sister Ruth referenced one of the rides they went on together as she commented on Cheryl's post: 'Me [handshake emoji] flight of passage.' Ruth later shared that the trip was in memory of her late brother. She wrote: 'Bittersweet, healing and at times so heavy hearted walking around and being on my brother’s favourite rides in his favourite place without him. [Her son's] first time to Disneyworld and my little thrill seeker absolutely loved it, it’s basically in his genes to love Disney, so magical✨❤️always in your honour Liam, you’d have loved this trip.'
Fans gushed over Cheryl's sweet bond with Liam's family in the comments, writing: 'So happy you got to have this experience with Bear and the rest of the Payne Family.' Another said: 'I'm so happy that you guys had so much fun and allow yourself to do so. Sending their whole family lots of love, especially for little Bear (not so little anymore).'
Ruth's Support for Cheryl
Ruth has long been fond of Cheryl and has previously posted messages on Instagram in support of her work. She also hit back at trolls who criticised the singer's choice of dress for her wedding in 2016, which some on social media claimed was 'not fancy enough.' At the time, Ruth wrote on X: 'I also had no say over what any guest wore to my wedding, I don't know who does have a say but considering my brother's girlfriend is one of the most beautiful women in the world, she can wear anything and still look stunning as she did at my wedding. There's enough hate in the world without people writing nasty stuff about people they don't know.'
First Christmas Without Liam
For his first Christmas without his father, Cheryl ensured Bear was reminded of happy memories with Liam and was visited by members of the Payne family. Sources at the time told the Daily Mail that Cheryl was going to 'great lengths' to ensure Liam will never be forgotten.
'It has been a really sad time for Bear and Cheryl,' a source close to the family shared last year. 'Cheryl has said it herself but she is trying to work through her son losing his daddy and that will mean there are many milestones to come, the first of which is Christmas. This was the time when Liam would skip over to Cheryl's and despite them not being together, they would give Bear the most special of days. Wherever Liam was in the world, he'd always make sure to be home to spend Christmas Day with Bear. [Bear] will always have those memories, but now things will be different.'
Cheryl has been trying her best to give Bear a memorable and happy childhood despite the heartbreak of losing his father. Last Christmas, she took him to meet his favourite animals, something he and the late One Direction singer shared a love for. Bear was treated to a three-night trip to Port Lympne, a safari park in Kent, where he appeared 'thrilled' as he came face to face with the park’s residents. The pair stayed in an exclusive £3,000-a-night glass-sided 'tiger lodge' where guests can see the wildlife roam at close quarters.
Cheryl and Liam's Relationship
Cheryl and Liam started dating in 2016 and their son was born the following year. They announced their split in 2018. The One Direction star posted on social media at the time: '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.'
Family Estrangement
Cheryl's close bond with Liam's relatives is a stark contrast to her own family estrangement. While the singer boasts a net worth of £30million, the life of her four siblings couldn't be more different. Her estranged brother Andrew Tweedy, 45, was spotted 'begging for money and living in a tent outside a supermarket' in April. According to reports, he was spending his days hoping customers at the Morrisons in Jarrow, South Tyneside, would buy him food. Cheryl is said to have made numerous attempts to help her brother kick his drink and drug addiction, including offering him a £20,000 stay in rehab.
The pop star previously revealed that Andrew's downward spiral, which has been ongoing for three decades, started when he learnt that the man who raised him was not his biological father - causing consequences for the entire family. Cheryl was raised alongside Andrew and their siblings Garry, Gillian and Joe, by mother Joan Callaghan and father Garry Tweedy on a council estate in Newcastle. But their lives changed forever when at the age of 14 Andrew came home angry after being told the truth about his parentage by someone in the street.
Cheryl recalled the incident in her 2012 autobiography, My Story, and said she 'remembered it like it was yesterday.' She wrote: 'My brother Andrew had burst in the front door in a terrible rage. I'd never ever seen him in such a state and he started ranting and raving at my mum and dad. They looked really worried and my heart started beating superfast. "I'll explain it," mum said. Her eyes looked sad and she had deep frown lines in her forehead. Dad had gone all quiet, which panicked me. The atmosphere felt chaotic. "Is dad my real dad?" Andrew screamed in my mum's face. I swear the clock stopped for a second. He said someone told him in the street that my dad wasn't his real dad. Andrew was going so berserk that he looked like a crazy person. But however mad he looked, this was sounding horribly realistic.'
Cheryl, who was 11 at the time, said her mother gathered the children around the kitchen table and said: 'I was 21 when we met, me and your dad.' Mam nodded towards my dad to make it clear she was talking about him. 'I already had Joe, and you two', she looked at Gillian and Andrew now, but not at me.' The revelation that Cheryl's elder siblings had a different father tore the family apart. Andrew and Gillian seemed to take the news the hardest, running away from home and turning to drugs, while her father Garry was unfaithful.
'Mum and dad split not long after,' she continued. 'Dad had an affair and mum tried to take him back, but they couldn't make it work anymore. The stress of bringing up five kids on her own, with the police banging at the door all the time, must have been hard to cope with.' When Andrew was 15 he stabbed someone in a fight. This guy had punched Gillian in a pub. Everyone was in pieces. People were talking about prison, and I was lying awake again, worrying myself sick. Andrew was jailed for six years, with Cheryl hoping that the conviction would teach him a lesson and he'd turn his life around. But he still struggled with addiction and has gone on to receive more than 50 criminal convictions.
