Why are Cheryl and baby Bear set for a lonely Christmas without Liam Payne?

Due to Liam Payne's busy work schedule, it looks like it's going to be a lonely Christmas period for Cheryl.

This is the first holiday season that the couple will be spending as a family after the birth of their son Bear on 22 March 22.

A source told Heat magazine: "Cheryl and Liam are upset that he is going to miss the run-up to Bear's first Christmas. They know what an exciting time it's going to be, especially because she has so much planned.

"But Cheryl understands why Liam needs to be away. She had hoped he would be able to join in all the festivities and she can't help feel that he's missing out. It's not what she had hoped for."

The former One Direction star is hard at work promoting his new album. Strip That Down, the first single from the album, reached number ten on the US Billboard Hot 100, making it Payne's first top ten hit as a solo artist.

He will be performing shows in the US until 17 December, which means, Cheryl, 34 and baby Bear will be on their own during the days leading up to Christmas.

Although Payne, 24 will be in London for Capital's Jingle Bell Ball at the O2 on 10 December, his brief stopover in the city will not leave him much time to spend with the family.

"Liam will hopefully be able to pop in and grab a few hours with them. But it won't be really quality time," the insider further added.

The singer had previously admitted to Mirror that he would be spending much of his time away from home during this time.

"Cheryl is at home with him now and my parents are on the way over, they're going to spend a week with us which is really nice because I'm not going to get to see them much in December so I told them they should come back and hang out with us," Payne had said to Mirror during the Pride of Britain Awards.

Speaking about his son, the proud father said: "Bear is fantastic, he's a little miracle baby, bless him, and he's doing wonders, he's amazing."

Payne has recently revealed that he struggled with mental health issues during his time in One Direction. He told The Sun: "Going out and putting that happy smile on my face and singing the songs, honestly, sometimes it was like putting on one of those costumes, going out there and, underneath the costume, people don't really see what's going on."