Cheryl delighted fans earlier this week when she shared an ultra rare snap of her and ex Liam Payne's young son, Bear.
The Girls Aloud singer, 39, treated her son to a ultimate Christmas experience with a trip to Lapland UK as she teamed up with bandmate Kimberley Walsh for the memorable outing.
As fans gushed over Cheryl's wholesome festive Instagram update, former One Direction singer Liam was enjoying a night out with a gaggle of women - as he joked he was 'forever crashing girls night'.
"I do accents too...it's that time of night but it's Christmas," the singer added during one of the bizarre updates shared with his Instagram followers in the early hours of Thursday morning.
As Cheryl and Liam prepare for son Bear's sixth Christmas, we take a look at the former couple's relationship - from Liam winking at his future partner on The X Factor at the age of 14, to how the two stars co-parent their young child following their split in 2018.
How I Met Your Mother
Liam caused major drama in the showbiz world earlier year thanks to his tell-all appearance on Logan Paul's podcast.
In addition to lashing out at his former bandmate Zayn Malik, the dad-of-one, 29, also revealed intimate details about the birth of his son - something that reportedly didn't go down too well with Cheryl!
Liam also recalled the moment he first met the mother of his only child and the thinking behind his infamous "cheeky wink" at Cheryl when he auditioned for The X Factor at the age of 14 in 2008.
The singer went on to join One Direction in 2010 thanks to the ITV show - with the five-piece boyband dominating the musical world prior to their hiatus 2015 - and eight years on from his original X Factor audition, begun a romance with Cheryl.
"It’s a licenced weapon please don’t try it. I went back to school the day after I winked at Cheryl in the audition and my friends are going ‘what do you think you’re doing winking at Cheryl Cole on TV?" Liam reminisced in June this year.
"Fast forward a few years and we ended up having a baby together."
"It’s the weirdest How I Met Your Mother Story . She was a judge on the show, I had a hole in my shoe at the time.
"It worked out great and she’s the best mum in the world, I couldn’t ask for someone better."
The Strip That Down singer went on to discuss his current day relationship with Cheryl and how they co-parent young Bear, claiming he is good pals with his one-time girlfriend.
Lockdown parenting
Liam isn't the only member of his fans to stun fans with a surprising accent.
The star's son Bear shocked fans in April 2020 as his debuted his Geordie accent on Instagram, as he interpreted mum Cheryl while she gave fans an update amid the start of the coronavirus pandemic and national lockdowns.
While Cheryl and Bear were isolating together, Liam was unable to see his son for weeks due to lockdown restrictions.
"Me and Cheryl had a very open conversation about visiting, but it’s difficult," the dad-of-one told The Sun at the time, but added he keeps in touch by FaceTiming his boy.
"It was right around his birthday that it (lockdown) happened. It was one of the first times I was in the country for his birthday and I was ready to go over and I just thought, 'I don’t know how I feel about it'.
"It’s just been difficult having to put up with a lot of FaceTime, and sometimes he wants to talk on FaceTime, sometimes he doesn’t."
Labour pains
Although Liam spoke highly of his ex during his infamous interview earlier this year, his comments about Cheryl's labour experience when giving birth to their son reportedly 'disappointed' the Geordie mum-of-one.
As he spoke to YouTuber Logan, Liam claimed son Bear's arrival into the world 'ruined' his relationship with Cheryl.
The One Direction star was just 23 when he became a dad and told Logan: "To be honest with you, it ruined a relationship at that point – but for all the right reasons.
"We broke up for a reason and now she gives me full autonomy over my life and I know he [Bear] is taken care of".
However Liam also went into detail about the Girls Aloud star's labour with their son, alleging she had "haemorrhaged".
Cheryl previously described the birth as "difficult", but her ex said: "It was me and a baby in the room and I had to take care of it."
Following Liam's candid interview, the Girls Aloud singer was said to be 'upset' with her former partner for discussing her private life so publicly.
A source told Closer magazine at the time: "She was quite shocked and disappointed about Liam's oversharing interview, giving away extremely personal info about her - knowing how private she likes to be.
"She's chatted some things through with him since, hoping to re-establish their privacy boundaries".
They also claimed the star's main priority was knowing Liam was ok and in the "right headspace" to make decisions for Bear.
Father's Day
Cheryl and Liam may no longer be together these days but the Girls Aloud singer still makes sure her ex gets a gift from his son.
The What Makes You Beautiful singer was blown away last year, as she shared a sweet surprise from Bear as he visited Cheryl's home on Father's Day.
Via Instagram, the proud dad of one showed off the cookies Bear had gone to great effort to make for him for Father's Day.
He told the camera: "Awwwh. Did you make me some cookies? Ah you did! Thank you very much! You know I like cookies."
In the same year, Liam praised Cheryl as he gushed: "Cheryl is literally the best person to co-parent with. No stress involved."
Talking to Glamour magazine about raising a child with an ex, he said: “It’s very, very relaxed and we spend a lot of time on FaceTime. It’s been really lovely, and I’m closer to them than I’ve ever been before, actually, which is really, really nice.
"But bedtime FaceTime can go really well sometimes. Or I bought him some toys yesterday that I showed them on the FaceTime and it was like I had to travel over and hand the toys over the fence!"
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