Liam Payne praises 'great mum' Cheryl Cole and reveals thoughts about her 'moving on'

Liam Payne has admitted he thinks about what will happen if his ex Cheryl Cole moves on with someone else, stating that he “hopes she’s happy.”

The former couple, who share son Bear, split in July 2018 after more than two years together.

In the time since, Payne, 26, has started a new relationship with model Maya Henry while Cole, 36, has remained single.

During his appearance on Straight Talking With Ant Middleton, Payne candidly discussed his ex, telling the show’s host: “I hope she’s happy, she deserves it, she’s a great mum, she works hard, she deserves to find happiness.”

When asked about Cole moving on, he admitted he had “thought long and hard” about the possibility.

“We will find our own peace with it,” he said. “For now, it’s good. I go over, do whatever, watch TV, it’s good, it’s nice.”

Middleton, 38, and Payne have become firm friends since filming the show in Namibia.

Revealing how honest he was with the host, the ex-One Direction singer previously told the Evening Standard: “I’ve more or less told Ant everything.

“I think in the situation where we were, it was a release for both of us in a way and there were things I’ve never really spoken about before.”

Payne and Cole first met when the former auditioned for The X Factor while the former Girls Aloud star was a judge in 2008.

They started dating around eight years later and welcomed Bear in 2017.

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