Liam Payne Celebrates Son Bear’s First Birthday With Sweet Photo: ‘Where Does the Time Go?’

David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images

The singer shared a new pic of his son with Cheryl Cole on Thursday.

Liam Payne and Cheryl Cole’s son, Bear Grey, is turning one!

While the couple -- who welcomed their baby boy last spring after nearly a year together -- have traditionally kept their family life very private, rarely sharing photos of Bear on social media, the 24-year-old former One Direction singer posted a sweet Instagram shot of his son on Thursday in celebration of Bear’s big day.

“Can’t believe my little man is one today, where does the time go?” Payne questioned in the caption of the heartwarming pic, which shows Bear’s tiny fingers reaching out to hold his dad’s tattooed hand. “Happy birthday son you’re my world.”

The pic is the first the singer has shared of Bear since he posted an adorable Valentine’s Day shot of his son in a onesie that read “Bear Is Mummy’s Little Valentine.”

In a recent interview with the U.K.'s Evening Standard, Payne opened up about his two-year relationship with Cole, 34, and the constant speculation surrounding their personal lives.

"The funniest thing was a week before we were getting married. The next week we’re splitting up," he said. "And the thing for me is, I just like to think we’re somewhere in the middle."

While the singer admitted that he and the entertainer “have our struggles,” he also shared a note of positivity: "It’s about whether you make it through or not, together, is the main point there I guess."

“I’m not gonna sit here and say that everything’s absolutely fine and dandy, because of course you go through different things, and that’s what a relationship is,” he added. "But we go through them together as a family and that’s the most important thing for me. This part of our relationship was never not going to happen, there was always going to be a little bit of tenseness in the way we sort ourselves out, but tell me a relationship in the world that doesn’t go through a spot like that?"

See more on the former 1D singer’s life as a father and solo artist in the video below.

RELATED CONTENT: