Liam Payne gushes over son Bear, 7, and claims he ‘looks like a mini me’ as he shares rare update on his 31st birthday

Liam Payne was very excited for his son Bear on Thursday when he shared a rare update on his 31st birthday.

The former One Direction singer shares the seven-year-old with his ex Cheryl, 41, and both have chosen to keep him out of the public eye.

But Liam has shared new details about his rarely seen son with fans, claiming he now looks like a ‘mini version of me’.

In an Instagram clip, he said: ‘I haven’t gotten any dad socks yet, I thought. I’m going to talk to my son soon, which I’m really looking forward to. God bless him. He’s getting so big now.

“He’s a big boy and he looks like a mini me. Like we need more of me in the world.”

Cheryl and Liam started dating after Cheryl split from her ex-husband Jean Fernandez-Versini, whom she divorced in 2016.

Bear was born in 2017 to Cheryl and Liam, who she first met when he was a contestant on The X Factor and she was a judge the following year.

Liam celebrated his 31st birthday in style with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy in Manchester on Thursday.

The singer, who enjoyed a day out in the city, looked relaxed in a light gray Cole Buxton hoodie and black cargo pants.

He teamed his casual outfit with a pair of black and white sneakers as he walked hand-in-hand with Kate through the streets of Manchester.

Meanwhile, Kate, 25, also looked casual in a gray zip-up jacket over a chocolate cardigan.

She paired the jacket with light gray drawstring sweatpants and carried her essentials in a beige striped bag.

To complete her look, Kate wore her blonde locks in a sleek ponytail and wore oval sunglasses.

Their outing comes after Liam comes under fire for making a “misogynistic” comment towards his girlfriend Kate.

The One Direction star went viral on social media after Kate shared a TikTok video of the couple showing off their outfits in preparation for a date night in Manchester.

As Kate described her outfit – a tight black cardigan and cropped trousers – Liam looked expressionless into the camera and said: “I look good, nice and covered up for a change.”

Fans were shocked by the comment and pointed out to X the hypocritical nature of his remark, given that he had previously posed shirtless and released the single Strip That Down.

They responded: ‘”Looking good, nice and covered up for once”???? Girl I know you fake that smile at the end’; ‘meanwhile these are his insta stories’; the fact that he always claimed to be the ‘nice’ and ‘nice’ one to 1d… ouch! a soon to be raging misogynist [sic].

However, some fans came to his defense, writing: ‘So many people think they know exactly what’s going on based on a 6 second video. It’s disgusting how many people find it so easy to hate. Shame on you.’;

“Why do people get so mad when a guy tells his girlfriend how he wants her to dress? She clearly still wears what she wants. [sic]’

Despite the controversy, Kate and Liam, who were first linked in October 2022, proved all was well between them as they were photographed holding hands at Sexy Fish later in the evening.

MailOnline has contacted Liam’s representatives for comment.

Last month, it was reported that Liam’s plans to come out in a tell-all documentary have been put on hold due to his ill health and his decision to focus on his music.

He was set to open up about his life in the boyband and his struggles with addiction, but The Sun claimed that plans for the film had been scrapped and that Liam had decided not to pursue the project.

The idea for the documentary came to the star in April 2023, after he attended the premiere of his ex-bandmate Louis Tomlinson’s film All of Those Voices.

It was claimed that Liam had already held talks with producers, but the star had now chosen to focus on his music and health.

A source told the publication: ‘This time last year, Liam was all excited about his comeback and announcing new music, but then his health took a turn for the worse.’

“He has hours and hours of footage and several production companies were interested, but ultimately he decided not to go ahead with it.”

They added: ‘Although he is much better than he was at the end of last year, Liam is still taking time to focus on himself. His comeback is a moving picture, but the plan is to release new music within the next two months.’

It was hoped that the film would be released on Netflix or Prime Video around the same time as the release of his second album.

It has been a difficult year for the star health-wise, after he was hospitalised in Italy last summer with a kidney infection.

He was forced to cancel his tour after doctors ordered him to ‘rest and recover’.

Liam shared a video to announce the news, telling his fans: ‘This is really the last news I want to tell you but I’ve been a bit unwell recently.’

“I ended up in hospital with a serious kidney infection. We started rehearsals and I’ve been advised that now is really not the time to travel while I recover from this.”

‘I have the best people around me at home who are trying to help me recover at the moment, but yes, we will have to reschedule the tour.’