How fatherhood changed Liam Payne’s life, in his own words…see more

Liam Payne has died at the age 31 after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina. The former One Direction star leaves son Bear, seven, who he welcomed in March 2017 with ex-partner, Cheryl.

While the singer largely kept his son out of the spotlight, only sharing a few photos of him over the years, he did speak many times about his love for Bear and how parenthood had impacted his life.

Welcoming a son at the age of 23 changed Payne “in every way”, he once said. “I always wanted to be a young dad, but I didn’t really expect that I’d ever be in this place,” he told the publication.

“I had my son at a young age, and you think it will be a magical thing, that you’re going to grow up one day into the person you’re supposed to be.

But it took a lot to find my footing. I figured, dad takes care of everyone, that’s what he does, so my thing was to cook.”