Liam Payne has broken his silence over his relationship with Cheryl, saying that she was his dream girlfriend as a teenager.

The One Direction star, 23, first met former Girls Aloud singer Cheryl, 33, when he auditioned in front of her for The X Factor in 2008.

Photo: PA

Now, the couple are dating and expecting a baby together although neither of them has spoken about their romance before.

Payne told Rollacoaster magazine: "This is the thing. In a non-cliche way, it's weird waking up every day and literally living out your dream. You wake up in the most beautiful places."

"Obviously I have the most -beautiful girlfriend in the world and she's absolutely amazing."

She's been my dream girl since I was younger. She's so ace

"She's been my dream girl since I was younger. She's so ace."

The boyband singer continued: "She is a wonderful, wonderful person and it's amazing to have someone who can relate to so much of things - someone who's taken greater steps than me."

"Her solo career was amazing. She's been in the industry for 14 years now."

"She fully supports me. We're super happy. It's a very personal, precious time for us. I'm still learning. I'm only 23."

Payne also shared that he and his bandmates once angered US President Donald Trump before he came to power because they refused to get out of bed for his daughter.

He said: "Donald Trump actually kicked us out of his hotel once. You wouldn't believe it."

"It was about [meeting] his daughter. He phoned up our manager and we were asleep. He said, 'Well, wake them up' and I was like 'No' and then he wouldn't let us use the underground garage."

"Obviously in New York we can't really go outside. New York is ruthless for us. So he was like, 'OK, then I don't want you in my hotel.' So we had to leave."

But he had much better things to say about pop star Justin Bieber, who has often fallen foul of the media over his handling of fame.

Payne said: "He's a great guy - inside there's a really good heart."

"I said, 'Look, the difference between me and you is I had four different boys going through the same thing to look to.' He didn't have that."

"I said to him, 'Take my number and anytime you want a chat, let me know as I'm here and I understand exactly what you're going through and I understand your world.'

"He needs somebody like that and in that position."