Liam Payne praises "super understanding" ex-girlfriend Cheryl Tweedy for the way she takes "great care" of their son

The 26-year-old singer said in British Vogue's In The Bag YouTube series: "If I could fit one person in my bag, it would have to be my son. It's hard being out on the road and missing him, working away as much as I do.

"His mum's super understanding with me, she takes great care of him. I always know he's really well looked after.

"It's just the little moments you miss out on sometimes that I'd love to be there for more."

But the former One Direction star makes sure he takes his favourite aftershave, Santal 33 by Le Labo on the road with him because it was a personalised Father's Day gift from Bear.

He explained: "My son bought me this for Father's Day which says 'Daddy, from Bear' which always brings a smile to my face when I'm putting it on."

Meanwhile, Cheryl - who split from Liam in 2018 following two years of dating - previously said she underwent therapy to help her be a better parent.

She said at the time: "It was just time. I felt an overwhelming amount of responsibility for me to be stable and OK inside myself and to be able to raise my son with stability and the best care I could provide him with. I felt the responsibility to do that and to understand myself. Why did I feel anxious? Why did I keep things in? And all that. My life is not about me any more or my career; it's about another little human being I'm responsible for ... I'm really happy now, very content. For the first time in my life, I'm happy being just me. I probably need that and Bear probably needs that right now ... But it took therapy for me to learn those things. I don't think about finding a man at all. I really don't think about it."