LIAM Payne and Cheryl Cole welcomed their son Bear into the world on March 2022, 2017.
The former One Direction star tragically passed away on October 16, 2024 after falling from a third-floor balcony in Argentina.
The 31-year-old singer was in Buenos Aires for pal Niall Horan’s tour when he tragically fell from his hotel room balcony.
Liam was staying at Hotel CasaSur in the neighbourhood of Palermo.
What Liam & Cheryl called their baby
The Sun exclusively revealed their son was born on March 22, 2017.
Cheryl and Liam named their baby Bear, and the tot also took his One Direction star dad’s surname, Payne.
They decided on the unusual name after spending a week getting to know the tot.
A source revealed: “Cheryl and Liam wanted to get to know their baby before deciding on a name.
“They spent over a week getting to know him first before deciding.”
The baby name became the subject of an April Fool’s prank, with Directioners making the name Lionel trend as the baby’s name.
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Marie Claire also shared an article naming the tot as “Wayne ‘Window’ Payne”.
Why they chose Bear
Liam Payne revealed the reason Cheryl chose to call their newborn son Bear.
He made the confession during a radio interview in the US and admitted he’d had an “internal battle” about the moniker.
Liam said: “The reason she chose Bear, in the end, was that Bear is a name that when you leave a room you won’t forget. And I like that. When I look at him he is Bear.
“To be honest at first I wasn’t having it, I didn’t understand it and I wasn’t sure. Now I look at him and he is Bear. It’s mad.”
What is Bear’s nickname and middle name?
Liam revealed his adorable nickname for baby Bear is Cub.
Bear is our world and we ask that you respect his privacy as we navigate our way through this together
Liam & Cheryl
The One Direction star met fans in America for a Q&A, and immediately opened up on “making a human”.
One fan wrote: “He said his proudest moment was bear and said at first he called him cub a lot.”
According to a fan who the One Direction star met in Boston, Liam and Cheryl decided to give their “cub” the middle name of Grey.
An excited Twitter user called Jackie posted: “LIAM TOLD US BEAR’S MIDDLE NAME! IT’S GREY! BEAR GREY PAYNE.”
The fan also added that the name certainly suits their little one, tweeting: “He just talked about letting Cheryl name him and that when he looks at him now ‘he’s definitely Bear’ & that his middle name is Grey.’”
Cheryl & Liam’s split
On July 1, 2018, The Sun exclusively revealed that Cheryl and Liam had separated after two-and-a-half years.
The pair released a statement confirming their split: “We are sad to announce that we are going our separate ways.
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“It’s been a tough decision for us to make. 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.”
