Liam Payne, 23, has revealed that his girlfriend Cheryl, 33, takes offence when people joke about their ten-year age gap. The couple first met when Liam was a fourteen-year-old schoolboy auditioning for a place on The X Factor, on which Cheryl was a judge. But according to Liam, Cheryl doesn't like being reminded of this fact. Speaking to Nick Grimshaw on Friday's Radio 1 Breakfast Show about their first meeting, Liam replied: "She doesn't like to talk about that." He then cheekily promised to share more details off-air.
WATCH: When Cheryl and Liam met on The X Factor
Nick went on to ask Liam about his new single Strip That Down, joking that he has years ahead of him to keep working as he's "only 12". Laughing, Liam replied: "[Cheryl's] going to be really offended that you called me 12 by the way." The One Direction star also opened up about welcoming his first child with Cheryl in March, admitting that it was the "maddest" thing he's ever done. "I had a baby!" Liam exclaimed. "That was a pretty mad bit about the year."
Liam and Cheryl, who secretly started dating in December 2015, went official with their romance in February 2016. At first their age-gap raised eyebrows, but Cheryl and Liam have gone on to defy their naysayers. However, the Wolverhampton-born singer did admit that there was a time when his girlfriend didn't think that their relationship would last. Speaking to The Sun's Dan Wootton, Liam said: "There is one song about a phone call that happened between me and her and she was about to say go – this was ages ago, and it's basically me trying to cling on saying no, it's going to work out, don't worry about it, give it time."
Liam was 14 years old when he met Cheryl on The X Factor
Liam reveals who his son looks like
Luckily now, things could not be any better between the couple. Talking about his love for his beautiful girlfriend, he continued: "Me and Chez – our relationship is amazing. She is just so great. I have just started being a dad and now I am here promoting my single and she gives me no bother about it."