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Liam Payne and his girlfriend Cheryl Cole have split up. The former One Direction singer, who is now a solo artist, and Cole, who is a former member of the group Girls Aloud (she goes by just Cheryl now), tweeted Sunday from their respective accounts. "Cheryl and I are sad to announce that we are going our separate ways. It's been a tough decision for us to make. We still have so much love for each other as a family. Bear is our world and we ask that you respect his privacy as we navigate our way through this together," Payne wrote. Cole also tweeted out the same statement on her own account. https://twitter.com/LiamPayne/status/1013539051419381760 The couple, who began dating in 2016, are parents to 1-year-old Bear, born March 22, 2017. Payne and Cheryl announced the news of Bear's birth on their Instagram accounts. "Although he still doesn't have a name he is already stealing hearts," Cheryl wrote at the time of their son. "We are all madly in love and overwhelmingly happy with our little arrival. Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers around the world. A day that now has a different meaning to me forever." Payne added: "My close friends and family know there are very few times when I'm left speechless... wow! I'm incredibly happy to welcome our new baby boy into the world, it's a moment that I will never forget for the rest of my life and my favourite memory I have so far. I'm completely in awe of his incredible mother and how she has been the whole way through this, she's really made my dreams come true. We haven't named him yet but he's already capturing hearts including mine. I feel very blessed. Happy Mother's Day everyone!" Still, the couple were plagued with rumors early this year that Payne was cheating on Cheryl with one of his backup dancers. that March, Cheryl took to Twitter to shut down those rumors. "I usually don't bother myself to respond to stupid articles. But in my silence they hold the pen," she wrote. "This is a stupid article, clutching at very small straws. But I can't ignore this story involving an innocent dancer colleague of Liam's who has a fiancé, and dragging them into this desperate attempt to try to cause problems between Liam and I. Nor do I understand the almost daily onslaught of stories." Payne recently announced that his debut solo album will be out Sept. 14.