Liam Payne on His "Dream Girl" Cheryl Cole: "We're Super Happy"

For the first time ever, the One Direction singer opens up about their romance in Rollacoaster magazine

Why does Liam Payne love Cheryl Cole? It's the little things.

For the first time ever, the One Direction singer has opened up about his private romance with the British pop star in the U.K.'s Rollacoaster magazine. "This is the thing: In a non-cliché way, it's weird waking up every day and literally living out your dream...Obviously I have the most beautiful girlfriend in the world, and she's absolutely amazing," he said, according to excerpts published in The Sun Thursday. "She's been my dream girl since I was younger. She's so ace."

Payne wasn't exaggerating when he said he's been pining for Cole for years.

He began dating the 33-year-old singer in 2016, though they first met when he competed on The X Factor in 2010 with his future 1D bandmates Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson. The pair made their red carpet debut last year at the Global Gift Gala in Paris.

Despite their 10-year age gap, the stars get each other on a personal and professional level. "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," Payne said of Cole, a former Girls Aloud singer. "Her solo career was amazing. She's been in the industry for 14 years now."

The superstars are currently expecting their first child, though they never made an official announcement. In February, after four months of speculation, Cole let her baby bump do the talking when she proudly put it on display in an ad campaign for L'Oréal and The Prince's Trust.

Asked about his dynamic with Cole, Payne explained that she "fully supports" him. "We're super happy. It's a very personal, precious time for us. I'm still learning. I'm only 23."

Payne also opened up about his friendship with Justin Bieber, with whom he bonded over their "chaotic lives". According to the pop star, "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 any time 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,'" Payne revealed. "He needs somebody like that and in that position."

"You know, they say that anger breeds passion," Payne adds. "I think that's the same with a lot of us, that we let things get chaotic very quickly. We're used to chaos."