Bear Grey Payne Is Liam Payne's Little Son Who Looks Exactly like His Famous Father

Bear Grey Payne is the son of music superstar Liam Payne and former girl group member of Girls Aloud, Cheryl Cole. He looks like his father, who has spoken proudly about being a dad to him over the years and has praised his mother, too.

Liam Payne was born on August 29, 1993, in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, in the United Kingdom. At 14, the English native auditioned for "The X-Factor" in 2008.

He did not impress the judges or advance further into the competition. One of the judges advised him to try again in two years, which he did, and was better.

Liam nailed his performance and received a standing ovation from the judges, including Simon Cowell. He went through the initial stages but was rejected as a solo act.

While it seemed his music dreams were crushed, a guest judge at the time, singer Nicole Scherzinger gave him a lifeline. He and four other solo rejects, including Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, and Niall Horan, were brought together to form a band, One Direction.

The foursome finished in third place and became an instant hit. After the show, they signed with Cowell's Syco record label. They released their first hit single, "What Makes You Beautiful," in September 2011, and it ended up being No.1 on the charts.

Liam Payne Is a Proud Father of One

While pursuing a solo career, Liam became a father. In March 2017, the singer announced on his Instagram that he and his girlfriend Cheryl Cole had welcomed their new bundle of joy, alongside a photo of him holding his newborn:

"I'm incredibly happy to welcome our new baby boy into the world, it's a moment that I will never forget for the rest of my life."

The hitmaker gave props to the mother of his child for making him a dad, saying she had been a trooper throughout the experience and made his "dreams come true." Meanwhile, the new mom shared the same photo on her social media and divulged that their first child, Bear Grey Payne, was born on March 22, 2017.

The Story behind Bear Grey Payne's Name

In May 2017, Liam appeared on the "Total Access" show and discussed his thoughts on naming his son, including what his child's mother had in mind. He divulged:

"I wanted a more traditional name, and she wanted a name that was more unusual. The reason she chose Bear was because Bear is a name that, when you leave a room, you won't forget. And I like that."

The first-time dad admitted he was not into the name, but as time progressed, he got used to it, especially when looking at his son. In another interview, he discussed how he and Cheryl named their son Bear.

Singers Cheryl Cole and Liam Payne attend The BRIT Awards 2018 at The O2 Arena on February 21, 2018 in London, England | Source: Getty Images

Liam shared that their child used to make noises as a newborn in the delivery room and continued while at home; hence they gave him the name Bear.

The youngster is now six years old. He celebrated his 5th birthday with a big party in March 2022. All his 30 friends attended the event. In a December 2020 interview, his father revealed that he is the spitting image of him:

"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!'"

Bear Grey Payne's Famous Parents Protects His Privacy

In a recent YouTube video from his official account, Liam Payne gave a parenting update and revealed Bear is growing up fast, adding he is even social media savvy.

When discussing spending time with him, the proud dad said, "Time with Bear's been really, really great. [..] He's far more smarter than I think I'll ever be. He's a wonder."

Bear's parents try to protect his privacy on social media. They have posted photos of him over the years but do not show his face. In August 2017, Liam posted a picture of him and his infant son's hands and captioned it, "Best birthday ever."

In December of that year, he shared a picture of him and his boy wearing matching shoes. When Bear turned one in March 2018, his famous father posted a snap of him gripping his hands and wrote, "Happy birthday, son, you’re my world."

Liam posted a similar photo in August 2019 of him holding his son's hand in front of the piano. "Twinkle twinkle hand in hand," his caption read. Bear's mom also shared a snapshot of the mother-and-son duo facing away from the camera while holding hands.

Cole captioned her post, "Walking in winter wonderland!" Cole and Liam first met in 2008 when she was a judge on "The X-Factor." He was 14 then and revealed in May 2022 that he winked at her during his audition. Cole said young Liam was "cute" and sent him to Boot Camp.

The pair started dating in February 2015 and welcomed their child two years later. However, a year after their son was born, the couple split. Liam spoke candidly about being a father at age 23 and admitted he was oblivious to what was to come with his new role as a dad.

"To be honest with you, it ruined a relationship at that point – but for all the right reasons," he said. Liam and Cole were together for two years before parting ways.

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