The depth of Liam Payne‘s feelings for his ex-partner Cheryl, have been shown in a sweet clip circulated by fans, after the singer was tasked with safeguarding the One Direction star’s fortune following his death.

The  star, 41, was granted the power of administration of the 31-year-old’s estate after he fell to his death from a hotel balcony following a drink-drug binge on October 16 last year.

Ahead of the first anniversary of Liam’s passing, a clip of the singer in a 2019 documentary with has been reposted on where he shows how close he and Cheryl remained even after their split.

The couple began dating in 2016 and welcomed son Bear, eight, the following year, before splitting in 2018.

In the show, Ant Middleton & Liam Payne: Straight Talking, the pair travelled to Namibia for a hard-hitting survival adventure.

Ant then asked Liam about his relationship with Cheryl and Bear, and he said: ‘We found our own unique situation around things, and obviously it’s not the most normal situation in the world, granted.

The depth of Liam Payne’s feelings for his ex Cheryl , have been shown in a sweet clip circulated by fans, after the singer was tasked with safeguarding his fortune

The Girls Aloud star was granted the power of administration of the 31-year-old’s estate after he fell to his death from a hotel balcony following a drink-drug binge last year (pictured in 2018)

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‘At this stage in my life, what even is normal anymore. For the majority of it, my life’s really abnormal, so why would that be any different?’

As Ant asked whether he and Cheryl still ‘get on,’ Liam added: ‘We genuinely get on, for sure. There’s so many different parallels from life we can draw with each other, that I think help us in our situation.

‘I just hope she’s happy, more than anything. She deserves it, she’s worked really hard. She’s a great Mum.

‘And yeah, she just needs to find happiness in the right places.’

Later in the programme, Liam continued to speak about Cheryl, admitting she’s ‘always been there for him,’ and he still ‘wants to protect her.’

He added: ‘I was just worried that I would not be enough, to look after the both of them, do you know what I mean? That’s so important to me, and I slowly but surely.

‘As much as we’re not together, she’s one of the most important people, if not the most important person in my life.

‘Even though we’re not together together, Cheryl is always there for me, do you know what I mean? I’m lucky since I have someone who actually understands what it is I go through.

Ahead of the first anniversary of Liam’s passing, a clip of him in a 2019 documentary with Ant Middleton has been reposted on TikTok

Asked about his relationship with Cheryl, and their son Bear (pictured), who is now eight, Liam admitting she’s ‘always been there for him,’ and he still ‘wants to protect her’

‘The one thing I was always missing, as a man, in my relationship, was a level of understanding sometimes of the way she might feel about certain stuff, and I think that’s the one thing I learned the most, over the time of being away, was learning although I want to protect her, there’s a real big side of her that wants to protect me.’

As Liam died without leaving a will, Payne was declared intestate, which means as an unmarried parent his estate is shared between any children.

It is therefore likely that the fortune Liam made during his boyband years and which, despite his drug and alcohol addictions, he managed to cling on to, will be placed in a trust for eight-year-old Bear.

Daily Mail revealed in May that Cheryl was tasked with safeguarding Liam’s fortune until their son Bear is older.

Friends of the former One Direction singer expressed how he was adamant to make sure his only son would be well looked after in the event anything happened to him.

Payne left a total of £28,595,000, which was later reduced to £24,280,000 after his expenses and debts were paid, according to court documents.

‘It is a small consolation that Bear will never want for anything, that he will at least benefit from that,’ a source close to the late singer said.

The source added: ‘Liam had some very sensible people around him for a time and he adored Bear so much. He always wanted to do the right thing by him financially.’

Liam’s estate was published as a limited Ad Colligenda Bona grant, which is commonly applied for during the sale of a deceased person’s property, where the deceased’s executors may have found a buyer for the property shortly after the death.

Cheryl was named in the legal documents alongside Richard Bray, a top music lawyer with a track record of representing stars including Ed Sheeran.

Daily Mail revealed in May that Cheryl was tasked with safeguarding Liam’s fortune until their son Bear is older (pictured in a snap Cheryl shared of Liam and Bear, following his death)