Who Is Liam Payne's Son, Bear?

One Direction star and loyal father Liam Payne has passed away at the age of 31. Leaving behind his on-again-off-again-fiancée Maya Henry, mother of his child Cheryl Ann Tweedy, and young son Bear Grey Payne. Liam Payne struggled with substance abuse disorder, but never stopped loving his son. According to People, Liam Payne "always wanted to be a young dad," regardless of how much he struggled to adapt to fatherhood. However, it was clear Payne was determined to be a good parent, dedicating the bulk of his attention to his son whenever they were together, telling People, "I make sure when I see him, he has 100% of my time."

Both Payne and his ex, who goes by the mononym Cheryl, were doting and responsible parents. Keeping Bear Grey Payne out of the public eye for as long as possible, most of the posts either parent made on social media only showed bits and pieces of their son, giving him privacy. As Bear Grey Payne grows up, he will find himself in the limelight more often.

When Bear Grey Payne was born in March of 2017, his parents had not decided on a name for him at the time. In an interview with Total Access a few months after Bear was born, Liam Payne mentioned it was a struggle to come to common ground on the name of his son. "I wanted a more traditional name and she wanted a name that was more unusual. And the reason she chose Bear in the end was because Bear is a name that when you leave a room, you won't forget. And I like that," (via People).

Bear Grey Payne was also born with a benign condition that maybe played into the name he was ultimately given. According to the "Night Changes" singer, his son would collect fluid in his lungs if he didn't "have a good cry." In an interview with People, Payne mentioned, "I had like 10 doctors come in the room, and in the end ... there's nothing wrong with him. He just likes to make a lot of noise. And that's carried on ever since, so he just became Bear."

In a YouTube video, the "Teardrops" singer thanks his son and Cheryl for helping him get sober by giving him "a little bit of freedom to go and get well."

Liam Payne and son Bear also looked strikingly similar to each other. The "Familiar" singer gushed to People, "When family members see baby pictures of me now, they say, 'Oh wow, Bear looks really great there!'" Like most children, Bear Grey Payne is a huge fan of Christmas. After watching "Home Alone" with his father, Bear's favorite catchphrase became "Merry Christmas, you filthy animals." 

Bear Grey Payne also really enjoys having famous parents. Although, his mother, Cheryl, really wants Bear to simply have a regular childhood. "The other day he said, 'How lucky am I to have famous parents?'" the "Fight For This Love" singer told British Vogue. He also enjoyed hearing demos of his father's songs and recognizing them when they were on the radio. Bear once told his dad "I want to be on a billboard one day, [like you] daddy."