Five years after announcing their hiatus, three of the original One Direction band members are dads! Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik, who rose to fame as teenagers, have all welcomed little ones over the past few years. Louis, who was the first to enter fatherhood, welcomed a mini-me back in 2016, while his former BFF Zayn became a dad in late 2020. Liam has also welcomed a son with former X Factor star Cheryl Cole, who was a judge during One Direction’s time on the reality show. Here’s everything you need to know about the three children of the 1D boys.
Freddie Reign Tomlinson
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Louis Tomlinson was the first of the One Direction boys to become a father. The singer welcomed an adorable son Freddie Reign Tomlinson, with former girlfriend Briana Jungwirth in 2016. Louis’ mini-me celebrated his fifth birthday in January 2021, and he’s the spitting image of his dad. The former couple are very protective of their son and rarely share photos of him publicly, however Briana posted a series of never-before-seen snaps in honor of his most recent birthday.
“I spent the morning reminiscing Freddie’s baby photos in tears. I can’t believe he is 5 today. Time has flown by,” Briana captioned the post, which featured pics of little Freddie when he was a newborn. “Goes to show how important it is to cherish each day. Happy Birthday to my baby, the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Meanwhile, Louis opened up about fatherhood in a rare interview with Metro in 2019. He explained that Freddie and Briana live in Los Angeles, and Louis splits his time between there and the UK. “I try and spend as much time in England as I do LA and vice versa… to be there to see and go out with Freddie and all of that,” he told the outlet. “Then I have my family in the UK, who I make sure I see plenty of. It’s a bit of a juggle at times but it’s all part of life.”
Bear Grey Payne
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Liam Payne welcomed a son named Bear with fellow singer Cheryl Cole in 2017. The toddler, who has been kept out of the public eye since his birth, recently celebrated his fourth birthday! In announcing his birth, Liam wrote on Instagram, “I’m incredibly lucky 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 favorite memory I have so far.”
Liam and Cheryl were smitten with their little guy from the minute he was born, and Liam explained in a September 2017 interview that they named him Bear because of the strange, grumbly noises he made in his sleep during their first night in the hospital. The pair were worried something was wrong with the newborn, however a doctor informed them that Bear was “just loud.” Although Cheryl and Liam called it quits in 2018, they still enjoy a close co-parenting relationship.
Khai Hadid Malik
Zayn Malik became a first-time father in 2020! The “Vibez” singer welcomed a daughter named Khai with model Gigi Hadid in September 2020, and he loves being a dad. The 28-year-old opened up about fatherhood during a rare interview in March. “Honestly, it’s amazing,” he gushed. “A lot of people that I was speaking to, obviously, before she was born and stuff were like, ‘It’s a big adjustment, and it’s going to be a massive change and stuff.’ But honestly, she’s an amazing baby.” He added, “It’s been really easy for me and Gig to kind of just ease into it. She kind of made it easy for us, she sleeps really well, she loves her milk.”
The proud dad also revealed that the pair were yet to decide where they want to settle down and raise their daughter long term. “I haven’t really thought about settling down per se yet,” Zayn said, while living with Khai in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where Gigi’s mother, Yolanda Hadid has a house. Gigi and Zayn, who’ve chosen not to share their daughter’s face yet, first announced they were expecting a little bundle of joy in April 2020amid speculation that the model was pregnant. Gigi confirmed her first pregnancy during a virtual appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.