Liam Payne had to thank Simon Cowell for his relationship with Cheryl after the star revealed it was the X Factor judge who set up the couple.
Speaking to Ant Middleton in a resurfaced clip from his Straight Talking TV special in 2019, the singer confessed that it was Simon who set up the couple after Liam joked with the music mogul that he thought the Girls Aloud star was “attractive.”
The One Direction star started dating Cheryl in 2016 and their son Bear was born the following year before the couple split in July 2018.
Explaining how the pair met, Liam revealed he had gone to Simon’s house for dinner and joked: “Well, I think I know who the next Mrs Payne will be.”
A few weeks later, Liam was in a bar when his bandmate Niall Horan walked in and confessed: “Cheryl has a crush on you.”
Liam Payne praised matchmaker Simon Cowell for putting him in touch with Cheryl in a sweet 2019 video, as he revealed the boss’s ‘devastation’ at her death (Liam and Cheryl pictured in 2018)
Speaking in a resurfaced clip from 2019, the singer confessed it was Simon who set up the couple after Liam joked with the music mogul that he thought the Girls Aloud star was “attractive”.
The Irish member of the group had been in Simon’s dressing room with Cheryl and a group of others and when Simon said Liam’s name, she apparently “turned red and left the room”.
Confirming how their relationship blossomed, Liam added: “So I just called her and when I came back from America we went out a bunch of times and it all started from there.”
Ant then joked: ‘So basically Simon Cowell was the matchmaker?’
Paying a sweet compliment to Cheryl even though the couple are no longer together, he added: “I basically won X Factor more than anyone else.”
Ant then asked: ‘Maybe a Cheryl and Liam return?’ to which Liam replied: “I don’t know if she plays her cards right.”
He then joked: “When I get home I’m going to get slapped for all this.”
Cheryl and Liam went public with their romance in February 2016 after they began dating following her divorce from Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini.
The couple went their separate ways in July 2018 after a two-and-a-half-year romance, but remained amicable parents to their now seven-year-old son Bear, whom they keep out of the public eye.
Explaining how the pair met, Liam revealed he had gone to Simon’s house for dinner and joked: “Well, I think I know who the next Mrs Payne will be.”
Paying Cheryl a sweet compliment even though the couple are no longer together, she added: “I basically won X Factor more than anyone else.”
Ant then asked: ‘Maybe a Cheryl and Liam return?’ to which Liam replied: “I don’t know about that, if she plays her cards right.”
The One Direction star began dating Cheryl in 2016 and their son Bear was born the following year before the couple split in July 2018.
The couple went their separate ways in July 2018 after a two-and-a-half-year romance, but remained amicable parents to their seven-year-old son Bear, whom they keep out of the public eye.
Until his death, Liam had been in a relationship with Kate Cassidy, whom he began dating in October 2022.
Liam fell from the third floor of a hotel in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires on Wednesday night, before doctors confirmed his death.
Following the news of Liam’s death, Simon suspended Britain’s Got Talent auditions and is said to be “completely shocked and devastated” by the tragedy.
Filming will resume on Saturday with Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden, KSI and Bruno on the panel as the mogul mourns the death of the pop star.
“This news has hit Simon incredibly hard – he is completely shocked and devastated,” a source told The Sun.
A spokesperson for Freemantle UK, the show’s producer, announced yesterday that they were suspending auditions for Britain’s Got Talent.
Their statement read: “Due to the tragic passing of Liam Payne, we have decided to postpone the Britain’s Got Talent auditions.” “Our thoughts are with Liam’s friends, family and everyone who loved him.”
A source told DailyMail.com: ‘Simon is devastated at the Liam news.
‘Simon has a son who he loves more than anything and essentially the One Direction boys were his first children, he spent a lot of time with them and loves them all.
“This is a tragedy and a lot of emotions are going through you right now.”
Footage from the resurfaced clip comes after Simon found himself in the line of fire from former X Factor contestants Katie Waissel and Rebecca Ferguson, who criticized the “exploitation and profiteering of young stars”.
Until his death, Liam had been in a relationship with Kate Cassidy, whom he began dating in October 2022.
Following the news of Liam’s death, Simon called off the Britain’s Got Talent auditions and is said to be “completely shocked and devastated” by the tragedy (pictured in 2013).
Katie Waissel, who auditioned alongside Liam on the 2010 series of X Factor, named Simon in two statements, accusing music bosses of focusing on “profits rather than people” (pictured in 2010) .
Rebecca Ferguson, who also appeared on X Factor in 2010 alongside Liam, previously shared her view that the music industry hides “horrific human rights abuses”.
Simon faced backlash when Katie, who auditioned alongside Liam on the 2010 series of X Factor, mentioned the music mogul’s name in two statements in which she accused music bosses of focusing on “the profits instead of people.
Taking to Twitter to reveal her heartbreak, she wrote: “My heart is completely shattered right now, I am speechless.”
“If Simon Cowell dared to make a statement about the heartbreaking and tragic loss of my dear, dear friend Liam, he would be a fool. We all know the truth… and I will make sure it comes out.
He later issued a lengthy statement focusing on his views on the state of the music industry.
Writing that Liam’s death “serves as a painful reminder of the systemic neglect that persists in the industry,” he insisted: “the focus remained on profits rather than people.”
Meanwhile, Rebecca Ferguson, who also appeared on X Factor in 2010 alongside Liam, reflected how she first met Liam at Euston station as they shared a taxi to the X Factor, the singer-songwriter wrote: “If he hadn’t gotten on that train and gotten into that taxi, I think he’d be alive today.”
“I have spoken for years about the exploitation and profiteering of young stars and its effects; many of us still live with the consequences and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).”