Liam Payne Reveals Fatherhood 'Messed Him Up'
Liam Payne has opened up about how he felt overwhelmed when he became a father, revealing that he wasn't sure if he would be able to take care of a child. The former One Direction singer was 24 when he had a child with his then-girlfriend, British pop star Cheryl, in 2017, and said that he started fatherhood "in a bad place."
"Becoming a dad at such a young age, it's such a difficult thing," he said. "And I think I built fatherhood up so much in my head that it kind of messed me to up start with. I started in a bad place with it. I think it spooked me out early on, and I was just worried I would not be enough to look after the both of them."
And while he and Cheryl are no longer together, he added that they still have a great relationship and co-parent their son, Bear, together. "They're so important to me — Cheryl as well. She's one of the most, if not the most, important people in my life," he said.
"I'm lucky I have someone who understands what I'm going through. The one thing I was missing as a man in the relationship I had, was a level understanding about what she was feeling about stuff. I think I learnt through away being that, while I want to protect her, there's a big part of her that wants to protect me."
Payne made the remarks during his new show with former Special Forces soldier Ant Middleton on their new show Straight Talking, which paired them up and sent them on a road trip through Namibia.
This isn't the first time Payne has spoken candidly about the personal issues he's had to overcome: he has been open about his struggles with anxiety, and earlier this year he revealed that life in One Direction became "toxic" and that he would drink to escape his feelings of loneliness.
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