{"id":266085,"date":"2026-01-04T01:37:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T01:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/266085\/"},"modified":"2026-01-04T01:37:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T01:37:12","slug":"revealed-how-cheryl-gave-her-animal-loving-son-by-the-late-one-direction-star-liam-payne-a-safari-park-treat-as-she-tried-to-keep-a-smile-on-his-face-on-second-christmas-without-his-dad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/266085\/","title":{"rendered":"Revealed: How Cheryl gave her animal-loving son by the late One Direction star Liam Payne a safari park treat as she tried to keep a smile on his face on second Christmas without his dad"},"content":{"rendered":"

He was named after a wild animal \u2013 so a New Year\u2019s safari to meet his namesake was the perfect treat.<\/p>\n

In fact, so keen was Bear Payne\u2019s mother, Cheryl<\/a> Tweedy, to give him a memorable Christmas<\/a> following the death of his father Liam almost 15 months ago, that she took him to meet his favourite animals, something he and the late One Direction<\/a> singer shared a love for.<\/p>\n

Dressed for the plummeting temperatures in a grey puffer jacket and matching bobble hat, the eight-year-old was treated to a three-night trip to Port Lympne, a safari park in Kent, where he appeared \u2018thrilled\u2019 as he came face to face with the park\u2019s residents.<\/p>\n

Bear toured the park in an open-sided safari Land Rover on a \u00a3110 per person, two-and-a-half hour \u2018ultimate safari\u2019 with the former Girls Aloud<\/a> star. Also there were Ms Tweedy\u2019s mother Joan and younger brother Garry, whom she credits as being her \u2018rock\u2019 following Liam\u2019s death aged just 31 in October 2024 after a fall from a hotel balcony.<\/p>\n

As well as meeting some spectacled bears \u2013 the inspiration for another famous bear, Paddington \u2013 Bear also got to sleep near tigers.<\/p>\n

\"Cheryl <\/p>\n

Cheryl in the open-sided safari Land Rover at Port Lympne during the \u00a3110 per person, two-and-a-half hour \u2018ultimate safari\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Cheryl <\/p>\n

Cheryl Tweedy’s son Bear fed the giraffes during the safari experience<\/p>\n

And he appeared to be particularly excited when the group reached the African section of the park and spotted the statuesque Nubian giraffes nearby, which guests can feed as part of the experience.<\/p>\n

Bear could be seen looking up in amazement as the animals bowed their heads to reach their food.<\/p>\n

Watching on proudly was Ms Tweedy \u2013 who first met Liam when he was a contestant on talent show The X Factor and she was a judge, though they began their relationship years later \u2013 in a long brown puffer coat and sheepskin-lined, trapper-style hat with the ear flaps down.<\/p>\n

Onlookers told The Mail on Sunday that Bear \u2018looked thrilled\u2019 and was \u2018not able to soak up enough of what he was seeing\u2019 as he and his mother enjoyed the safari.<\/p>\n

One guest said: \u2018They all looked genuinely mesmerised, especially Bear. It must have been such a wonderful treat for him.<\/p>\n

\u2018It must be so sad. He doesn\u2019t have a daddy around at Christmas so it was lovely to see Cheryl doing the best she can to make sure he had a smile on his face.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The family group appeared particularly excited when they reached the African section of the park and spotted the statuesque Nubian giraffes nearby<\/p>\n

\"Cheryl <\/p>\n

Cheryl prepares to step out of the Land Rover during the safari experience<\/p>\n

\"Cheryl <\/p>\n

Cheryl wore a\u00a0long brown puffer coat and sheepskin-lined, trapper-style hat with the ear flaps down<\/p>\n

While the singer is determined to bring up her only child unspoilt \u2013 he will one day inherit Liam\u2019s \u00a330 million fortune \u2013 their accommodation was luxurious.<\/p>\n

Ms Tweedy, who is said to be worth around \u00a310 million herself, could easily have afforded to take her only son overseas on safari, but the group could not have looked happier at the park, which is owned by the conservation charity, the Aspinall Foundation.<\/p>\n

She and Bear, along with her wider family, stayed in an exclusive \u00a33,000-a-night glass-sided \u2018tiger lodge\u2019 where guests can see the magnificent creatures roam at close quarters.<\/p>\n

In fact, many guests wake up to find the animals at their windows in what the park describes as \u2018an unforgettable experience\u2019.<\/p>\n

Bear and his family also enjoyed some of the park\u2019s other delights during their visit, including an illuminated walk, a vintage-inspired funfair and lighting installations, which have previously attracted other famous fans including Holly Willoughby and Carrie and Boris Johnson.<\/p>\n

And there were further treats in store for Bear. He would undoubtedly have been thrilled to see the park\u2019s model dinosaurs, thought to be similar to the three his father bought on eBay and later placed in the back garden of his mansion in Buckinghamshire.<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The group could not have looked happier at the park, which is owned by the conservation charity, the Aspinall Foundation<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The eight-year-old fed the giraffes dressed for the plummeting temperatures in a grey puffer jacket and matching bobble hat<\/p>\n

\"Liam <\/p>\n

Liam Payne with Bear after his birth in 2017.\u00a0Although Liam and Cheryl split in 2018, when Bear was just two, father and son shared an unbreakable bond<\/p>\n

Father and son would spend hours playing with the statues, with little Bear \u2018giggling his head off\u2019 at his playful dad.<\/p>\n

\u2018They both adored dinosaurs from when Bear was very little,\u2019 a friend said.<\/p>\n

Cheryl and Liam got together back in 2015 after her marriage to French businessman Jean Bernard Fernandez-Versini ended.<\/p>\n

Although the couple split in 2018, when Bear was just two, father and son shared an unbreakable bond. Since the singer\u2019s death at the Casa Sur Palmero hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he suffered multiple traumas and was found to have traces of alcohol, cocaine and antidepressants in his body, Ms Tweedy has been determined that Bear won\u2019t ever forget his father.<\/p>\n

Friends say she has \u2018gone to great lengths\u2019 to make sure there are reminders of Liam in Bear\u2019s life and she ensures that he remains close to Liam\u2019s parents Karen and Geoff, as well as his sisters Ruth and Nicola.<\/p>\n

And of course, she will never forget the poignant legacy that Liam left to their little boy \u2013 his love of animals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"He was named after a wild animal \u2013 so a New Year\u2019s safari to meet his namesake was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":266086,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[118,18,117,19,17,8898,13129,438],"class_list":{"0":"post-266085","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-dailymail","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-liam-payne","14":"tag-one-direction","15":"tag-tvshowbiz"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115834273527234044","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=266085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/266086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=266085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=266085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=266085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}