Cheryl Cole has broken her silence with a heartbreaking tribute to Liam Payne in the wake of his sudden death.
The former One Direction star died after falling 45ft to his death from a third-floor balcony at the CasaSur Palmero Hotel in Argentina.
The Girls Aloud singer was previously in a relationship with Payne for two years, with the pair welcoming their child Bear Grey into the world on March 22, 2017.
The grieving mother has taken to Instagram to told of her anguish as she tries ‘navigate this earth shattering event’.
Her statement read: ‘As I try to navigate this earth shattering event, and work through my own grief at this indescribably painful time.
Cheryl Cole has broken her silence with a heartbreaking tribute to Liam Payne in the wake of his sudden death
The Girls Aloud singer was previously in a relationship with Payne for two years, with the pair welcoming their child Bear Grey into the world on March 22, 2017
Alongside her touching tribute to the late 31-year-old Cheryl posted a picture of the father and his son
The grieving mother has taken to Instagram to told of her anguish as she tries ‘navigate this earth shattering event’
‘I’d like to kindly remind everyone that we have lost a human being.
‘Liam was not only a pop star and celebrity, he was a son, a brother, an uncle, a ear friend and a father to our seven year old son.
‘A son that now has to face the reality of never seeing his father again.’
The pair initially crossed path on the hit talent show in 2008, however it wasn’t until 2016 that their relationship began.
They made their official red carpet debut at Eva Longoria’s Global Gift Gala in Paris in that year, with Payne paying tribute to Cheryle with a tattoo of her eye on his arm.
On March 22, 2017, the Girls Aloud singer gave birth to their son Bear, previously writing to Instagram: ‘On Wednesday Liam and I became parents to an incredibly beautiful, healthy baby boy looking like a dream.’
However a year later in July, Cheryl and Liam announced their split.
Before his sudden death at around 5pm (ART) , the pop star had been attended his former bandmate Niall Horan’s tour in the Latin American country.
A heartbreaking video shows Liam Payne singing and dancing at the concert with his current partner Kate Cassidy.
A selfie of Liam Payne in Argentina before his sudden death at the age of 31
Payne was seen contemplating a Forest Gump Halloween costume – he would die just 15 days before the holiday
The star heartbreakingly said he was ‘happy to have some time away’ less than an hour before he fell to his death
Following the gig, he posted a tragic picture with Niall to Snapchat captioned: ‘Reunited.’
Separate posts from the final moments of the star’s life showed him enjoying lunch in his hotel room, where he revealed the pair had been ‘waking up at 1pm every day’ and deciding on Forest Gump as a Halloween costume.
A further tragic selfie was captioned: ‘Lovely day in Argentina’ before the star shared a photo of his hotel, writing: ‘Happy I got some time away’ followed by a heart emoji.
He shared a further photo with Kate captioned: ‘Quality time.’
Liam began his pursuit to stardom when he initially auditioned for X Factor in 2008.
At only 14-years-old Liam impressed judges with his own version of Fly Me To The Moon by Frank Sinatra – but was later eliminated from the show.
However Payne gave his singing career another go auditioning for the competition again in 2010, where he quickly shot to fame as part of One Direction.
He and his former bandmates Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson, were brought together by Simon Cowell and former judge Nicole Scherzinger who saw their potential as a group.
After just a few weeks of getting to know each other and non-stop rehearsing, the group impressed Simon at their Judge’s Houses audition and sailed through to the live shows.
Payne’s 1D bandmates said ‘in time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say’
In a statement signed ‘Louis, Zayn, Niall and Harry’, Liam Payne’s One Direction bandmates said they were ‘completely devastated’
After Malik announced his departure from the band in 2015, the band went their separate ways
The pop Svengali later admitted to Rolling Stone that it took him ‘about a millionth of a second’ to spot the group’s worldwide potential.
The fan reaction was instant too, with 1D hysteria soon dwarfing the show. Despite the adoration, the band ultimately finished in third place on the X Factor but shortly afterwards Cowell sealed their fate by signing the fivesome to a reported £2million Syco contract.
Keen to capitalise on the boys’ already devoted fanbase, Cowell moved quickly with recording for the band’s debut album beginning in January 2011.
By September of that year One Direction’s first single was released with What Makes You Beautiful soaring to number one on the UK Singles Chart, after becoming the most pre-ordered Sony Music Entertainment single in history.
Their debut album, Up All Night was also a best seller, becoming the UK’s fastest-selling debut album of 2011, with the record leading to their first tour which kicked off in the UK that December.
After Malik announced his departure from the band in 2016, the band members went their separate ways.
During their time as a group, One Direction won five Brit Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, amassed over three billion YouTube views and sold 50 million records worldwide.
After releasing five albums with one of the biggest boybands of all time, Liam released his first solo album titled LP1 in 2019.
His singles Strip That Down co-written with Ed Sheeran climbed its way to number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart that same year.
After releasing five albums with one of the biggest boybands of all time, Liam released his first solo album titled LP1 in 2019
Over the course of his music career, the popstar collaborated with the likes of J Balvin, French Montana, Dixie D’Amelio and A Boogie Wit da Hoodie
Candles are set on the pavement as fans of former One Direction singer Liam Payne gather to honour him
Emotional One Direction fans embrace as they pay tribute to the late pop star
Fans light candles outside the hotel where former One Direction Payne was found dead
Fans have also paid tribute to the star in Mexico City
One Direction fans gather to pay tribute to Liam Payne, at the Monument of the Revolution, in Mexico City
Over the course of his music career, the popstar collaborated with the likes of J Balvin, French Montana, Dixie D’Amelio and A Boogie Wit da Hoodie.
He was previously in a relationship with British pop sensation Cheryl Cole and the pair welcomed their son Bear Grey on March 22, 2017. The parents later split in 2018.
Following his romance with Ms Cole, Liam had an on-and-off relationship with ex-fiancée Maya Henry, and the pair called it quits in May, 2022.
Fans have flocked outside the CasaSur Palmero Hotel in Argentina and have held several vigils in remembrance of the beloved pop star.
Earlier today the devastated father of One Direction star Liam Payne underwent the heart-breaking duty of formally identifying his son’s body at a Buenos Aires morgue.
Geoff Payne arrived at the Forsenic Medical Centre in the centre of the city in a limousine van with blacked-out windows shortly after 3pm local time accompanied by diplomats from the British Consulate.
Mr Payne, a motor vehicle mechanic, is understood have arrived at Buenos Aires’ Ezeiza International Airport at approximately 5.30am this morning after flying across the Atlantic Ocean overnight.
He was driven to a hotel to freshen up before attending a meeting with state prosecutor Marcelo Roma, who is investigating the 31-year-old star’s sudden death.
This afternoon Mr Payne was taken to the morgue to formally identified his son Liam’s body so that he can be repatriated to the UK for burial.
British Consulate officials have confirmed that they are assisting Mr Payne, who is from Wolverhampton.
This morning Buenos Aires Mitre Radio reported: ‘Liam Payne’s father has just arrived in Argentina.
‘He is a gentleman named Geoff, he came to the country precisely to speed up the repatriation process for his son’s body and is now accompanied by the staff of the consulate.
‘Mr Payne has now to examine the body and ask for the repatriation to be expedited, but with him here it will probably be much faster.’
Liam Payne’s parents have spoken about how hard it was to let their son leave the protection of the family when he was just a teenager to follow his dream to become a popstar.
In the 2013 documentary ‘This Is Us’, his mother Karen said: ‘I shed tears just looking at him.
‘They [Liam] become someone in a newspaper or a magazine to you.
‘I always believed Liam would make it, but never this big. Never in my wildest dreams. He goes away for so long.’
Father Geoff added that he mourned missing the many ‘rites of passage’ with his son that a young man goes through with, such buying him his first pint of beer or celebrating him finishing school.
He said: ‘It’s not just the mums, it’s the dads that struggle, too.
‘I mean, I can’t offer him much, I could take him out for a drink or play some pool.
‘But he’s the only lad in the family and I’ll never get this time back, he’s gone.
‘And I can’t give him advice because he has seen more of the world than me.’
Despite his fame, Liam always stayed close to his parents, crediting them for his solid upbringing, especially as he became a father himself.
In June 2020, Liam wished his dad a happy Father’s Day, sharing that Geoff’s influence made him who he is today.
He wrote on Facebook: ‘Happy Father’s Day Dad! And to all the dads out there and those that are no longer here.’
‘This day means even more to me now in the last few years than ever before. I truly appreciate everything you have ever done for me thank you for raising me right.’
This is a breaking news story. More to follow.
