1 week Ago By Julia Banim, Samantha Ibrahim
Liam Payne, who tragically passed away last month at the age of 31, was no stranger to growing up in the public eye. The One Direction star first auditioned for The X Factor at just 14 years old and quickly went from being an ordinary teenager from Wolverhampton to a global superstar. However, this early fame came with its own set of challenges.
When he and his ex-girlfriend Cheryl welcomed their son Bear in 2017, they were met with a whirlwind of headlines and messages from fans who had been following Liam's career from the start. New dad Liam, who was only 23 at the time of Bear's birth, and Cheryl did everything they could to shield their son from the spotlight they were so used to. A few years before his untimely death, Liam opened up about the "tricky" dilemma he would face if Bear ever wanted to follow in his footsteps, and the sweet wish Cheryl has for their son's future.
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He's got the best advice from the parents around him in the long run, I guess." Discussing the approach they've taken to protect their son's identity, Liam said, "That's not being pretentious or anything other than the fact I want to give him a chance to be Bear first before he has to be your mum and dad are so-and-so. I made my choice to be where I was at 14/15 so I figure he can make his own choice then too," reports the Mirror .
He highlighted the importance of discussing career choices with Bear, stating, "We'll have a good discussion about it, a long discussion because I know what effects that can have too. But I would never stop him from doing something he wanted to do. I'd let him know the risks and I'd tell him what was going to happen better than that.
" Payne also remarked that while he hopes his son finds something he loves, he understands that every job can become tedious, referencing how he once admired his father's job: "I say that lightly because I think everything that you do - depending on what kind of person you are - becomes annoying at a point. I used to think my dad's job was the best job ever, building aeroplanes like adult Lego, but my dad's like, 'Do not end up in that bloody factory.'".
