Liam Payne has spoken for the first time about the “struggles” he’s faced in his relationship with Cheryl Tweedy.
Last month, reports speculated that Liam and Cheryl’s romance was on the rocks, though they seemed keen to downplay this at the Brit Awards, where they put on a united front on the red carpet.
But in an interview with the Evening Standard’s ES magazine, Liam admitted: “The funniest thing was a week before [the split rumours] we were getting married. The next week we’re splitting up. And the thing for me is, I just like to think we’re somewhere in the middle.
He went on to say: “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?
“It’s about whether you make it through or not, together, is the main point there I guess.”
However, in the same interview, Liam did credit Cheryl for “understanding” him, adding: “[I’m] very fortunate that I partnered up with someone who’s … very understanding with what I do. Because I don’t think anybody else could take it.
“It’s difficult, obviously: having someone else who’s so high-profile in the media pushes everything that I do to another level, and I think it’s weird. I feel like the press are more obsessed with it than the nation are, which is quite funny.
“It is about making it work for us, not making it work how people think it should work.”
Liam and Cheryl first got together in late 2015, but managed to keep their romance under wraps for months before it eventually made the headlines.
Cheryl gave birth to their son, Bear, in March last year.
Read Liam’s full interview in this week’s ES magazine.