He famously first met his girlfriend Cheryl when she was a judge on TV hit The X Factor and he was a 14-year-old boy hoping to make his musical dreams a reality.
And now that Liam Payne, 24, is romantically involved with the 34-year-old star – and they share six-month-old son Bear – the former One Direction heartthrob feels that he has become the hit show’s ‘biggest winner’ after admiring her as a young fan.
‘It’s a ridiculous place to be in,’ he told The Telegraph Magazine of his romance with Cheryl. ‘She’s even more amazing than I thought. I was watching her do Fight For This Love [her debut solo single, from 2009] when I was a kid, and now we’re together with a kid. I feel like I’m X Factor’s biggest winner.’
Dream come true: Liam Payne has declared himself The X Factor’s ‘biggest winner’ for his romance with Cheryl, after becoming a fan of hers when he was a teenager
During his interview with the publication, he also spoke about some of his darker days in 1D, when his brief spell of heavy drinking led to weight gain – and jibes.
‘I wasn’t happy,’ he admitted. ‘I went through a real drinking stage, and sometimes you take things too far. Everyone’s been that guy at the party where you’re the only one having fun, and there were points when that was me.
‘I got to 13 stone, just eating crap. I got fat jibes, and it affects your head. I have nothing to hide about it… As I say, it was like a musical creatively university. We were pretty reckless, but I got out of my system. I had my fun.’
Old hand: The 24-year old admits Cheryl’s own considerable experience in the music industry, both with Girls Aloud and as a solo artist in her own right, turned her into a ‘rock’ as he took his first tentative step into spotlight without his three band-mates
The Strip That Down singer’s revelations come after he Cheryl for giving him the confidence to embark on a solo career following his extended hiatus from 1D.
Liam admits Cheryl’s own considerable experience in the music industry, both with Girls Aloud and as a solo artist in her own right, turned her into a ‘rock’ as he took his first tentative step into spotlight without his three band-mates.
He told Entertainment Tonight Canada: ‘She’s broken records in the UK for having the most singles as a solo female go number one. So it’s like you have one of the best people at this job at your house saying, “Come on! You can do this.”‘
Away from music Liam and Cheryl have embraced parenthood following the birth of their fist child, son Bear, in March.
Proud dad: Liam and Cheryl welcomed their first child, son Bear, in March, and the singer admits he’s already inherited their love of music
And the star admits he has already inherited their love of music, adding: ‘He loves singing. He loves being sang to. That’s what makes him happy and what makes him laugh, so maybe there’s a bit of music in him, you know.
‘He’s just a super happy, chill baby. We’re super blessed that he just chills out and since he was eight weeks, he’s been sleeping 11 hours.’
Liam’s interview comes shortly before Cheryl lifts the lid on family life in her first TV interview in 10 months.
In a teaser clip from her forthcoming This Morning interview – set to air next week – she talks about how she’s juggling baby Bear and her plans to come back to the charts.
Well earned break: The star is exploring his own music during an extended break from One Direction
The star looks glowing in the short clip, where she says: ‘Since being a mam… that’s how I say it,’ in her iconic Newcastle drawl.
She also hints that she has snubbed having a nanny to help with the tot, adding: ‘When you’re looking after a baby 24/7…’
Liam and Cheryl had welcomed Bear into the world back in March, after the former Girls Aloud star had kept notoriously private about her pregnancy.
Introducing her son on Instagram days after his birth, Cheryl penned: ‘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.’
She continued: ‘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.’