Liam Paynehas left his boy (bander) days behind him.
Payne was only 23 when he and now-ex-girlfriendCherylbecame first-time parents, and it wasn’t easy to help start a new life while still establishing himself as an adult.
“At first it is the most scary thing in the world, ’cause you’re like, ‘Oh my God, I got to take care of this tiny thing,’ ” the singer says about new fatherhood. “I was so young when I became a dad, as well. So it’s a learning curve the whole time.”
“You think you’re going to have all the answers right off the bat and you don’t, ’causeyou’re still figuring yourself out,” he adds. “You’re not only taking care of yourself and learning about yourself, now, you’re trying to learn this little thing that needs you.”
Charlotte Rutherford
Ultimately, the"Stack It Up"crooner is grateful for the chance to grow right alongside his little one: “I think [raising a child] gives you the opportunity to be a better person and you’d be stupid not to take that chance.”
As he prepares to release his debut solo albumLP1, Payne is counting a new relationship among the gifts that have resulted from his personal growth. However, his heart had to go through its trials and tribulations before he was able to find happiness.
“With love, I think you don’t really understand it until it gives you that sting. It took a long time with me. Something really hurt me and it kind of made me appreciate love and people a lot more,” he says. “For the longest time,living such an exposed life madedating really hard.”
“And I think it’s just the pressure sometimes that you and that person can put on yourselves,” Payne adds. “I’m kind of at the place in my life now where I just realized it’s not worth sacrificing my happiness because somebody might see something.”
Payne is currently pressure-free with model girlfriendMaya Henry, and he has no qualms about declaring his love on social media.
Last month, Payne proved just how done he is with keeping his romantic life under wraps, thanking Henry for “always keeping the biggest smile on my face through all the stress and making me [realize] how perfect my life really is” in the caption of acuddly Instagram photo. Meanwhile, the model hasposted PDA-laden pics ofher “kissypoo” on her own Instagram account.
“I don’t have anything to hide — I’m really happy right now,” the singer says of his new, unreserved phase of life.
source: people.com
