Getty
Liam Payne’s ex, Cheryl Cole, is heartbroken by his death.
On Friday, Cole broke her silence on his passing on Instagram, writing, “As I try to navigate this earth-shattering event and work through my own grief at this indescribably painful time, I’d like to kindly remind everyone that we have lost a human being.”
Cole, 41, included a photo of Liam sharing a touching moment with their then-infant son Bear.
Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.
She added, “Liam was not only a pop star and celebrity, he was a son, a brother, an uncle, a dear friend and a father to our 7-year-old son. A son that now has to face the reality of never seeing his father again.”
Blasting the media frenzy surrounding his death, Cheryl added, “What is troubling my spirit most is that one day Bear will have access to the abhorrent reports and media exploitation we have seen in the past two days. It is breaking my heart further that I cannot protect him from that in his future.”
She continued, “I am begging you to consider what use some of these reports are serving, other than to cause further harm to everyone left behind picking up the pieces. Before you leave comments or make videos, ask yourself if you would like yur own child or family to read them.”
Cheryl concluded, “Please give Liam the little dignity he has left in the wake of his death to rest in some peace at last.”
In August, Liam mentioned their son Bear on Snapchat while celebrating his 31st birthday, saying, “I didn’t get any dad socks yet, though. I’m going to speak to my son in a little bit, which I’m really excited about.”
He added in the Snapchat video, “Bless him. He’s getting so big now. He’s a big boy and he looks like a mini me. As if we needed any more me in the world.”
Liam and Cheryl met in 2008 when he was a contestant on “The X Factor,” but they didn’t began dating in 2016.
A year before their split, the couple welcomed Bear.