Liam Payne has described the wink he gave Cheryl during his 2008 X Factor audition as his “licensed weapon”.

In an appearance on the Impaulsive podcast, hosted by Logan Paul, on Tuesday 31 May, Payne said he and Cheryl have the “weirdest How I Met Your Mother story”.

Payne, 28, and Cheryl, 38, first met in 2008, when he auditioned for The X Factor while she was a judge.

During a rendition of “Fly My By The Moon”, Payne, who was 14 at the time, was seen winking at Cheryl, much to her surprise.

The pair confirmed they were in a relationship in February 2016 and made their red-carpet debut as a couple at Cannes Film Festival that year.

In November that year, Cheryl confirmed that she was expecting her first child with Payne. The couple split up in May 2018, just over a year after welcoming their son, Bear.

Recalling their first meeting, Payne told Paul, he had winked at Cheryl to try and make himself “stand out”.

“It’s a licenced weapon please don’t try it. I went back to school the day after I winked at Cheryl in the audition and my friends are going ‘what do you think you’re doing winking at Cheryl Cole on TV?” he said.

“Fast forward a few years and we ended up having a baby together.”

When asked by Paul about the part the wink played in Payne’s subsequent relartionship with Cheryl, the former One Direction star doubled down on his comments.

“The wink, like I say, is a registered weapon. I have to check it in,” he joked.

“It’s the weirdest How I Met Your Mother Story. She was a judge on the show, I had a hole in my shoe at the time.

“It worked out great and she’s the best mum in the world, I couldn’t ask for someone better.”

Payne also opened up about co-parenting Bear with Cheryl, telling listeners that they are now good friends.

“We broke up for a reason, and now she gives me full autonomy of my own life to be able to go and do what I do, and at the same time I know he’s being taken care of because he is all she cares about.”