Maya Henry speaks out on Liam Payne’s struggles with addiction and their painful split before his death

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Maya Henry has spoken publicly for the first time about her past relationship with Liam Payne following the singer’s tragic death at 31.

The model and author, 24, reflected on their turbulent romance and Payne’s battle with addiction in a new interview with Rolling Stone.

Inside Liam Payne's tragic death

Payne, who died on October 16, 2024, after falling from the balcony of his Buenos Aires hotel room, had struggled with substance abuse for years.

A toxicology report released by the prosecutor’s office in November revealed that he had traces of alcohol, cocaine, and prescription antidepressants in his system at the time of his death.

Henry, who dated the One Direction star from 2018 to 2022, said that while she deeply loved Payne, his addiction created an insurmountable divide between them.

Maya Henry reflects on relationship with an addict

Speaking about Liam Payne, Henry said, “This was someone I loved very much."

“Initially, it was the drug use and addictions that tore us apart. Anyone who has been with an addict understands how difficult that is,” she share din her statement.

She recounted how Payne’s personality would change under the influence, making him almost unrecognizable compared to his sober self.

“On drugs, he became someone unrecognizable—so different from his sober self,” she said.

“While I loved him deeply, he did things that hurt me in ways I’ll never fully understand, and he continued to hurt me years after we broke up,” Henry added.

Maya Henry opens up on living in denial and ignoring red flags

Despite witnessing numerous troubling incidents, Maya Henry admitted that she kept hoping Liam Payne would seek help.

“I kept hoping each incident would be a wake-up call for him to get help, but it never was,” she recalled.

“I tried to be there for him. I loved him so much that I convinced myself I could fix things,” she added.

Henry also spoke about the personal toll of their relationship, revealing that she found herself in many “unsafe and harmful” situations.

She described how she ignored every red flag, believing things would eventually improve.

“I knew there were parts of himself he was struggling with—parts of his identity he wasn’t ready to fully face, even within our relationship,” she explained.

“In the end, it wasn’t just the betrayals or the addictions that broke us—it was the realization that I had spent years in something that was never what I thought it was. I don’t fault him for his struggles,” she shared.

Liam Payne and Maya Henry's relationship marked by breakups and reconciliation

Payne and Henry’s relationship was full of ups and downs. The couple was first spotted together in August 2018 and confirmed their relationship in September 2019.

They got engaged in 2020, but their romance soon became rocky. The two split for the first time in June 2021, only to reconcile by October that year. However, they ended things for good in 2022.

Henry channeled her experiences into her novel 'Looking Forward', a fictionalized account based on “true events” involving a relationship with a pop star.

In a May 2024 interview with People, she spoke candidly about her relationship with Payne. “I definitely chose to forgive a lot of things,” she admitted.

“When you love someone so much, you have those rose-colored glasses. You’re in denial, so you think those things will stop, and they don’t, and that just becomes an issue among other issues,” said Henry.