Liam Payne and Cheryl's Relationship: A Look Back

Liam Payne and Cheryl had a short-lived romance from 2016 to 2018

Liam Payne and Cheryl's short-lived romance was one for the books.

The future boyband member auditioned for X Factor in 2008 at 14 years old, where Girls Aloud member Cheryl Cole was a judge. At the time, Payne was cut, but Simon Cowell encouraged him to return to the show in two years. Keeping his promise, the then-aspiring singer returned in 2010 and earned yeses across the board, eventually going on to form One Direction.

Well into One Direction's success and after Cheryl's divorce from French restaurateur Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini, Payne, then 23, began courting his former X Factor judge who was 10 years his senior in 2016.

Related: Liam Payne on 10-Year Age Gap Between Himself and Cheryl: 'We Don't Like to Talk About' When We Met

By 2017, the pair welcomed their first son, Bear Grey. Payne and Cheryl would then split in 2018 and have remained close co-parents ever since.

“I couldn't ask someone better. The relationship we have with each other now as friends has only grown more," Payne said about Cheryl on Logan Paul's Impaulsive podcast in 2022. "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. You couldn't ask for more."

On Wednesday, Oct. 16, Payne was pronounced dead at 31 at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Policía Federal Argentina confirmed to PEOPLE. He died of multiple injuries and "internal and external" hemorrhages after falling from his hotel balcony, according to a preliminary autopsy report.

From Payne's first X Factor audition to his eventual split from Cheryl and co-parenting journey, here is a look back at the musicians' relationship.

2008: Liam Payne auditions for X Factor where Cheryl is a judge

A fresh-faced, 14-year-old Liam Payne auditioned for the fifth season of X Factor UK with a rendition of Frank Sinatra's "Fly Me to the Moon."

"When I'm at school, in general, I think about singing all the time," Payne said in his pre-audition interview. While he was ultimately eliminated at the Boot Camp stage, Cowell asked him to return for the judges' houses stage. Payne was cut a second time, although he was encouraged to return in two years when he would meet the show's updated minimum age of 16.

2010: Liam Payne returns to X Factor and One Direction Is formed

In 2010, Payne returned to the X Factor stage and met Cheryl again. This time, he sang Michael Bublé's version of "Cry Me a River." A shocked Cowell gave him a standing ovation and Cheryl told him, "You've definitely got it. Whatever it is, you got it."

Along with Niall Horan, Harry Styles,  Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson, Payne failed to make it past the boot camp stage as a solo artist. However, the musicians were brought together as a five-piece boy band for the "groups" category. They enjoyed immediate success despite finishing third on the seventh season of X Factor, and went on to become one of the most successful boy bands in history as One Direction.

Related: Look Back on Liam Payne's X Factor Auditions at 14, Which Led Him to His 'Dream' Career

December 2015: Cheryl and Liam Payne reunite at the 2015 X Factor final

One Direction's final performance before their split was at the 2015 X Factor final, where they performed "History" and "Infinity," per Billboard.

January 2016: Cheryl files for divorce from Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini

After meeting at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014, Cheryl married Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini after a three-month courtship, per The Mirror UK. By January 2016, the pair filed for divorce — which was finalized in October 2016 — with Cheryl citing irreconcilable differences, according to the outlet.

February 28, 2016: Liam Payne teases Cheryl romance by changing his profile photo

Payne appears to confirm his relationship with Cheryl by changing his Instagram profile photo to a photo of the two of them cuddled up, per Digital Spy. In the snap, Cheryl was holding up a peace sign while Payne was gazing into the camera. He promptly changed it back to a photo of him only a day later.

April 2016: Cheryl shuts down rumors she cheated on Jean-Bernard with Liam Payne

In fiery post on X (formerly Twitter), Cheryl appeared to address rumors that she cheated on ex-husband Jean-Bernard with Payne where she wrote, "If anybody believes the s--- they're reading today you really don't know me at all."

Related: Simon Cowell's Britain's Got Talent Postpones Auditions After Liam Payne's Death

May 2016: Liam Payne and Cheryl make their red carpet debut

After months of speculation and some internet flirting, Cheryl and Payne finally made their red debut at the Global Gift Gala, where the Girls Aloud singer was honored with the Global Gift Philanthropist Award, per E! News.

At the time, Payne gushed about Cheryl and her achievement on X: "So proud of her tonight" with kiss emojis.

November 2016: Liam Payne and Cheryl are expecting their first child

On Nov. 30, 2016, PEOPLE confirmed Cheryl and Liam Payne were expecting their first child. At the St. James Christmas Carol Concert in London, Cheryl was spotted wearing a form-fitting green dress that appeared to show off her baby bump.

While the couple never announced the pregnancy publicly, Cheryl posed for a photoshoot in all black for L'Oreal and The Prince's Trust in February 2017 where she was seen cradling her stomach.

March 22, 2017: Liam Payne and Cheryl welcome their son, Bear

A month after Cheryl properly debuted her baby bump in the L'Oreal photo shoot, the new parents welcomed their bundle of joy, Bear, sharing the news on Instagram a few days after his birth on March 25, per Billboard.

"On Wednesday 22nd March Liam and I became parents to an incredibly beautiful, healthy baby boy, weighing 7lb 9 and looking like a dream. Although he still doesn't have a name he is already stealing hearts. We are all madly in love and overwhelmingly happy with our little arrival. Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers around the world. A day that now has a different meaning to me forever," Cheryl wrote.

Payne shared a post of his own, writing, "My close friends and family know there are very few times when I'm left speechless... wow!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 and my favourite memory I have so far. I'm completely in awe of his incredible mother and how she has been the whole way through this, she's really made my dreams come true. We haven't named him yet but he's already capturing hearts including mine. I feel very blessed.Happy Mother's Day everyone!"

Related: All About Liam Payne's Son Bear

July 2, 2018: Liam Payne and Cheryl announce their split

A little over a year since welcoming their first and only child, Payne and Cheryl took to social media to announce their split.

"Cheryl and I are sad to announce that we are going our separate ways. 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," Payne wrote on X.

Cheryl's statement on X, which was nearly similar, read: "We are sad to announce that we are going our separate ways. 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."

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