Cheryl Cole’s Heartfelt Interview Days Before Liam Payne’s Death

The mother of Liam Payne’s only son, singer Cheryl Cole, can be seen in a new interview filmed just days before the One Direction star’s death.

Filmed October 8, a little more than a week before the “Familiar” star’s tragic death, the Brit-pop songstress can be seen smiling and reminiscing about her days with Girl Aloud, one of the most popular acts in UK music history, for a lead-in special to an upcoming concert film.

Though no one could see the tragedy that would befall Payne just days after the interview, Cole was already dealing with a heavy heartbreak.

The special, titled The Girls Aloud Show: The Interview, is an ITVX sit down with the surviving members of the music collective – Cole (who goes by the mononymous Cheryl professionally), Nadine Coyle, Nicola Roberts, and Kimberly Walsh. It is themed around a reunion tour of the same name.

As noted on Express UK, it is the group’s first tour since the death of original member Sarah Harding, who succumbed to complications from breast cancer in 2021. During the tour performances, videos of Harding singing along are displayed behind the group members.

Through the 17-minute interview, no mentions are made of Payne, who split with Cheryl after a year-long relationship in 2018, or their son, seven-year-old Bear Payne.

In the days following Payne’s October 16 death, many of his colleagues and friends shared their feelings on social media, including Cole.

As Just Jared reports, Cheryl took to Instagram on October 18 to ask fans and the media to be conscious of both Liam’s humanity and the young child he left behind.

“As I try to navigate this earth-shattering event, and work through my own grief at this indescribably painful time, I’d like to kindly remind everyone that we have lost a human being,” Cole shared beside a sweet photo of Liam and Bear as an infant.

“Liam was not only a pop star and celebrity,” she continued, “he was a son, a brother, an uncle, a dear friend, and a father to our 7-year-old son. A son that now has to face the reality of never seeing his father again.”

In the wake of several damning reports and photos published by TMZ, Daily Mail, and other celebrity news publications, Cole expressed concern for what Bear could uncover about Payne’s death online as he gets older.

“What is troubling my spirit the most is that one day Bear will have access to the abhorrent reports and media exploitation we have seen in the past two days,” Cole said. “It is breaking my heart further that I cannot protect him from that in his future.”

In recent days, reports of Payne allegedly threatening his ex-girlfriend Maya Henry with “revenge porn” and salacious headlines of Liam being “intimate” with one of three men charged with his death, as both noted here on The Blast, have been making the internet rounds.

Perhaps sensing how intense the media coverage would become, Cole’s post closed with a plea for fans and journalists alike to be more mindful and respectful of Liam and the loved ones he left behind – but none more than his son.

“I am begging you to consider what use some of these reports are serving, other than to cause further harm to everyone left behind picking up the pieces,” Cheryl expressed. “Before you leave comments or make videos, ask yourself if you would like your own child or family to read them.”

While Liam chose to raise his son with Cheryl out of public view, he often spoke highly of Bear and his pride of being a father. Speaking with People in March 2022, the One Direction alum shared that he went out of his way to spend as much time with Bear as possible.

“I see him two times a week, three times a week sometimes,” Payne claimed (due to his busy career, Bear lived his mom full-time). “And I make sure when I see him, he has 100 percent of my time. I make sure that I’m not on my phone or d-cking around somewhere else.”

Payne also noted the importance of maintaining a positive co-parenting relationship with Cole.

“Cheryl is literally the best person to coparent with,” he told Glamour UK. “No stress involved. It’s very, very relaxed, and we spend a lot of time on FaceTime. And it’s been really lovely, and I’m closer to them than I’ve ever been before, actually, which is really, really nice.”

One of the most telling shows of Bear’s love for his father can be seen in the one of the last posts Liam made to Instagram. In a snapshot taken on March 1, Bear can be seen from behind looking up at his father’s face on a marquee to promote “Teardrops,” the last single released during Liam’s lifetime.

“I want to be on a billboard one day, daddy,” the added caption reads.