Liam Payne reveals son Bear claimed to have COVID-19 to get a day off school

Liam Payne has revealed that his four-year-old son Bear once declared he had COVID-19 in a cheeky attempt to avoid going to school.

The 28-year-old singer told fans in an Instagram Q&A that Bear — whose mother is the singer Cheryl — recently tried to wriggle out of a day in the classroom by claiming to have the virus.

Read more: Liam Payne says he learned to "become a man" after Bear was born

Payne said: "I think he learned that if you have COVID you don't have to go to school, which is quite sneaky but also quite smart. He figured out if he pretended to say 'I've got the virus', then he would get the day off school.

"Apparently it went so far as to him telling the teacher... I didn't even know what a virus was when I was four... sneaky.

Watch: Liam Payne says Bear prompted him to get involved with Ron's Gone Wrong

"He did get a telling off for it, but I kind of have to give him props for it as well, because my pretending to get off school when I was a kid was not that extravagant."

Payne then joked that he was "not proud" of Bear for his actions, but said he had no choice but to admire the degree of his son's "childish deviousness".

Read more: 10 years of One Direction

The former One Direction star had COVID-19 himself in January, which led him to postpone a virtual showcase event.

He has recently been teasing the prospect of a reunion with his 1D bandmates, saying he recently spoke to Louis Tomlinson about getting the group back together "sooner rather than later".

Payne and Cheryl dated between 2016 and 2018 and now co-parent their son, who was born in 2017.

Last year, Payne said the arrangement between the former couple is "very, very relaxed" and added that he is "closer to them than I've ever been before".

Read more: Liam Payne reveals sadness at missing Bear's birthday during lockdown

He is not keen, however, for Bear to follow his parents into the music industry and both he and Cheryl have sought to keep their child out of the spotlight.

"It scares me a little bit because I know what that can do to you and, in certain places with things,” said Payne.

Watch: Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson want One Direction reunion