Liam Payne reveals the meaning behind his Cheryl eye tattoo

Liam Payne has opened up about the meaning behind his tattoo of partner Cheryl's eye.

During an interview with BuzzFeed, the One Direction frontman, 23, was asked: 'Which tattoo is your favourite or the most meaningful?'

Liam, who reportedly has 21 inkings, had plenty of material to choose from in response to the question, but opted to highlight the black and grey tattoo of Cheryl's eye, which is on his lower left arm - for a rather surprising reason.

'I would say having my missus' eye on me is a nice thing,' he said. 'Because I like to know that she's always got her eye on me, and I've always got my eye on her, which is nice.'

It's not known exactly when Liam had the tattoo done, but he debuted it to the public in late January this year, two months before Cheryl gave birth to the couple's first child, Bear Grey.

Back in June, he told The Sun that he was also planning to go under the needle for a tribute to the little one, explaining: 'I love getting tattoos.

'I haven't decided what yet but I'll make it a surprise. I've got to do my chest next, which is going to really hurt.'

Liam's tattoo for his son will join his already extensive collection of artwork, which also includes a rose on the top of his hand, which many have speculated also has a connection to his other half.

Back in August 2013, Cheryl's tattoo artist Nikko Hurtado's Instagram page unveiled a sizeable full-bottom rose composition that extended down the upper back and lower thighs, which he'd done on the former X Factor judge.

Liam's floral piece, meanwhile, wasn't completed until January 2016, shortly before news of their relationship began to be reported in the press, leading some eagle-eyed fans to believe the choice of design could be related to their romance.