Liam Payne is "closer" to former partner Cheryl and their son Bear than he has "ever been before"

He gushed: "Cheryl is literally the best person to co-parent with. No stress involved. It's very, very relaxed, and we spend a lot of time on FaceTime.

"And it's been really lovely, and I'm closer to them than I've ever been before, actually, which is really, really nice.

"But bedtime FaceTime can go really well sometimes. Or I bought him some toys yesterday that I showed them on the FaceTime and it was like I had to go and travel over and hand the toys over the fence!"

Liam - who is engaged to Maya Henry - admitted he's struggled with the most recent coronavirus lockdown in the UK because he wasn't working and having nothing to keep him occupied led him to a "dark" place.

He told Britain's Glamour online: "In the first half of it, I was so busy that I didn't really notice it as much, except for having to do a lot of stuff myself without crew and learning to do hair and makeup was kind of a weird experience.

"But then this second half, I stopped working and I had a full, proper month off [and that was] really hard.

"And it was all a bit dark for me for a little bit and I'm sure many people experienced it. Just not being able to go anywhere, not be able to do anything. It really, really hit home.

And I just found myself sat in the same place day in, day out. And I was like, okay, I really do not know what to do with myself."

But the 27-year-old star has seen the period as a "blessing in disguise" as it's taught him to relax more.

He added: "For me, learning to relax has always been quite a hard thing to do because I feel like if I'm not moving forward, then I must be going backwards. And I think that's something that I've always struggled with.

"So, in a way it's kind of a blessing in disguise, as this has all kind of taught me to relax a little bit more. And to not be so worried about that, like the world is not going to fall over if I don't do something today.

"So, it's been nice in that respect."