Cheryl Tweedy split from Liam Payne because she felt like she was raising Bear alone

25 August 2018

Cheryl Tweedy split from Liam Payne because she felt like she was raising their son alone.

Liam Payne and Cheryl Tweedy

The 35-year-old singer broke up with her One Direction star boyfriend in July after two-and-a-half years together and friends of Cheryl say Liam's constant travelling for work took a toll on their relationship.

A source told The Sun that "Cheryl effectively raised Bear on her own for most of his first year, with support from her mum Joan because of the long stretches Liam was on the road".

Earlier this week, Liam, 24, hinted that the split between him and Cheryl - with whom he raises Bear, 17 months - was not his decision.

He explained: "I didn't really expect any of this obviously and it's difficult. I think sometimes people need to remember that behind all those statements and things there are actually people who are going through the same sort of stuff that you go through whether they're famous, rich or whatever they are, it doesn't matter."

He also revealed he is finding the break up tough.

Speaking on the Official Vodafone Big Top 40, he said: "Yeah, no I'm feeling ok, I'm a bit fragile at times. No I'm alright you know, it's been ok. Obviously there's a lot of stuff I've still got to sort out with my life but...

"You're tryna like, you break up and like obviously we've broken up and then it was like a couple of days or a couple of weeks before we actually like put the announcement out and that's the bit when it really hits home I guess but at the same point it's like breaking up twice like, we already did this once and now I'm having to go through all of that again just because..."

Although Liam has thrown himself into his music since splitting from Cheryl, his emotions have affected his long-awaited debut solo album.

He said recently: "I have enough songs for it and was ready to put it out.

"But I kind of feel like some of the songs I'm not ready to put out right now with the way I'm feeling. I don't know.

"To be honest with you, life's took a little bit of a different turn as of late, so I'm kind of going with that turn and being honest with my feelings and stuff."

To hear more from Liam, tune into The Official Vodafone Big Top 40, on Sunday (26.08.18) from 4pm - 7pm, on air and on digital radio across 120 radio stations and online at bigtop40.com.