Liam Payne met Cheryl Cole before he was famous. Years later, their paths crossed again.

Former One Direction member Liam Payne has been found dead, aged 31. According to local authorities, the British musician fell from the third floor of a Buenos Aires hotel.

Liam leaves behind a son, Bear, seven, whom he shared with singer Cheryl Cole, 41.

Liam and Cheryl first met in 2008, when the then 14-year-old first auditioned for the British version of the X Factor.

During his audition, the former Girls Aloud member said: "I like you, I think you're really cute. I think you've got charisma and you give us that little cheeky wink."

Watch Liam Payne's X Factor audition. Post continues after video.

Unfortunately Liam didn't make it past judges houses. But he returned two years later, ready to give it another go. Cheryl was back on the judging panel for 2010, and she loved Liam's audition just as much as the first one.

"You've definitely got it," she told him. "Whatever it is, you've got it. And I thought your voice was really, really powerful."

Liam made it through to bootcamp, where the 16-year-old was formed into a group with four other hopeful singers — Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, and Louis Tomlinson — creating what would become global sensation, One Direction.

It wasn't until five years later that Liam, then 22, and Cheryl, then 32, sparked romance whispers. Fans caught the pair flirting during One Direction's performance together at an X Factor final.

Three months later, the pair confirmed their relationship on Instagram.

Listen to The Spill episode on Liam Payne's Life, Death And Complicated Legacy. Story continues below.

Liam later spoke about how he and Cheryl got together on Straight Talking With Ant Middleton.

"I went to Simon Cowell's house, and made a joke about how hot Cheryl was," he said. "Simon was like, 'I know who's going to be the next Mrs Payne!'."

Then at a bar, his bandmate Niall told Liam that Cheryl fancied him.

"I was like 'Cheryl? Cheryl?' Niall was in Simon's dressing room, Simon said my name, she went red and left. So I hit her up."

Their relationship went from strength to strength, with Simon Cowell referring to them as "madly in love".

Liam Payne and Cheryl Cole went from friends to partners. Image: Getty.

In March 2017, Liam and Cheryl welcomed a baby boy together, whom they named Bear.

"I'm incredibly happy to welcome our new baby boy into the world, it's a moment that I will never forget for the rest of my life and my favourite memory I have so far," Liam, then 23, wrote on Instagram at the time.

"I'm completely in awe of his incredible mother and how she has been the whole way through this, she's really made my dreams come true."

After one year as parents, the couple announced their split to X (formerly Twitter) with a joint statement.

"We are sad to announce that we are going our separate ways," they wrote in July 2018. "It's been a tough decision for us to make. We still have so much love for each other as a family. Bear is our world and we ask that you respect his privacy as we navigate our way through this together."

Years later, while speaking on Logan Paul's Impaulsive podcast, Liam said that having a baby changed the dynamic of his and Cheryl's relationship.

"To be honest with you, it ruined a relationship at that point — but for all the right reasons," he said.

The singer also gushed about Cheryl, calling her the "best mum in the world".

"I couldn't ask for someone better," he said of their strong bond as co-parents.

Feature Image: Getty