Cheryl’s touching comment about her ex-boyfriend Liam Payne’s parenting style has taken on a poignant new meaning following his tragic death on October 16

Cheryl described her ex-boyfriend Liam Payne as a “great dad” to their son Bear in an emotional interview given before his tragic death.

The One Direction singer sadly died last month after falling from his hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Cheryl’s heart wrenching 2019 interview has now taken on a haunting significance in light of Liam’s death.

Before the Strip That Down hitmaker died, Cheryl spoke warmly about their relationship and the love he had for their young son. Despite their split, the Girls Aloud singer had nothing but praise for Liam’s parenting and described him as a “great dad.”

“Liam is a great dad. He’s much softer than me,” she shared during an interview with The Telegraph. She also described how Bear had his dad wrapped around his little finger, while she took on the stricter parenting role.

“I’m the strict one; Liam isn’t. I’ll be the one saying, ‘Just one square of chocolate,’ but Bear is so good. If I get cross with him he puts his little hands on my face and looks into my eyes to see if I’m deadly serious or a tiny bit cross, and it melts my heart,” she recalled.

Cheryl and Liam’s relationship ended a year after Bear was born. In the interview, Cheryl, who divorced twice prior to her romance with Liam, hinted that the breakup wasn’t solely her decision.

Responding to a question about why they split, she said, “Who says it was me?” She kept the details vague, but made it clear they were determined to co-parent peacefully.

Comparing their breakup to a “conscious uncoupling,” Cheryl explained, “If that means there’s no screaming and shouting, and you both still manage to get on because you have a baby, then yes.” She added, “When you have a baby, you are not consumed with just thinking about yourself. It’s your responsibility to keep things settled and happy, so you make the best of everything. And we have.”

Cheryl also said motherhood has transformed her and admitted that Bear’s birth brought a sense of fulfilment she had long been searching for. “Everything changed for me from the moment Bear was born. My old brain came out of my head, and all my worries, anxieties, and feelings of emptiness went, and a new brain replaced it,” she said.