Liam Payne Shares Rare Photo of Son Bear, 6 — and Details His Reaction to Seeing His Dad on a Billboard!

According to Payne, Bear said he wants “to be on a billboard one day" — just like his dad!

Liam Payne is setting an example for his little one!

The One Direction alum, 30, graced billboards on Friday to advertise his new single, “Teardrops” — and shared his son Bear Grey’s sweet reaction to the ads.

In posts on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter), Payne shared a photo of the 6-year-old looking at one of the singer’s billboards and revealed in his caption that Bear wants to follow in his dad’s footsteps someday.

"I want to be on a billboard one day daddy,” he wrote of what his son said, adding a bear and heart emoji.

Reacting to the rare snapshot of Bear, Payne’s fans expressed surprise at how much the child, who Payne welcomed with ex Cheryl Cole in 2017, has grown.

“HOW IS HE SO BIG?” one commenter wrote, while another said, “He's so big, it seems like he was born yesterday.”

Related: Liam Payne Celebrates One Direction's 'What Makes You Beautiful' Nearing 1 Billion Streams: 'Miss You Boys'

Speaking with British Vogue last year, Cole, 40, revealed that Bear loves having celebrity parents. Or, in her words, he’s “twigged” that they are famous.

"The other day he said, ‘How lucky am I to have famous parents?’ I said, ‘It doesn’t matter.' He goes: 'Yeah. But it’s pretty cool,' " she said.

The “Fight For This Love” singer also told the outlet she wants her and Payne’s 6-year-old to “have a normal childhood."

"I don’t want people recognizing him on the street," she explained.

Related: Liam Payne Thanks Ex Cheryl and Son, 6, for Giving Him a 'Little Bit of Freedom' to Enter Rehab

Payne, who had Bear at 23, has previously opened up about parenthood to PEOPLE, admitting in 2018 that he "always wanted to be a young dad” — but becoming a father at a young age did not come easy.

He elaborated in a later interview, telling PEOPLE that “it took a lot to find my footing.”

"I had my son at a young age, and you think it will be a magical thing, that you're going to grow up one day into the person you're supposed to be," he said in 2020. "But it took a lot to find my footing. I figured, Dad takes care of everyone, that's what he does, so my thing was to cook."

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Outside of cooking, Payne — who split from Cheryl in 2018 — also prioritizes lots of quality time with Bear, he told PEOPLE in 2022.

"I see him two times a week, three times a week sometimes," he said at the time. "And I make sure when I see him, he has 100 percent of my time. I make sure that I'm not on my phone or dicking around somewhere else."

"So, I like to give him those moments and it's important,” he added. “He needs that in his life. He needs his dad in his life, and I'm happy he looks at me like a superhero, and I'm hoping to keep it that way.”

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