The entire world stood in shock when the news of Liam Payne’s tragic passing hit the Internet on October 16th. The former One Direction member, who rose to fame thanks to the X Factor singing competition back in 2010, fell from the third floor of his hotel’s balcony in Argentina, suffering a fatal head injury that ended his young life.
Earlier that day, the hotel reported an ‘aggressive man possibly under the influence of drugs or alcohol,’ causing distress in the hotel lobby, prompting speculations about whether Payne jumped from the balcony deliberately. The singer, aged 31, was visiting Argentina with his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, who left the country a few days before Payne’s passing.
On October 2nd, two weeks before Payne’s death, the singer attended the concert of his former One Direction bandmate, Niall Horan, where the duo reunited after several years. But who was Liam Payne, and why is the news of his passing especially heartbreaking?
The Path to One Direction
Liam Payne was born on August 29, 1993, in Wolverhampton, England. At the age of 14, he gave up on his dream of being an Olympic runner and redirected his focus and grit to singing, applying to the X Factor for the first time shortly after. However, destiny had other plans for Payne, who was told he was too young and should come back in two years to audition again.
Needless to say, the singer did indeed come back to prove his worth in 2010, two years after his initial audition. He was put in a group with four other young prospective teenage heartthrobs: Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik. Together, the group formed One Direction, a record-breaking band that, despite placing third in the X Factor, went on to become one of the most successful music bands of all time.
On August 15, 2015, after five years of phenomenal success, multiple albums, and four world tours grossing over $600,000,000 in total, One Direction announced a hiatus months after Zayn Malik abruptly left the band in the middle of the tour. Payne went on to release his first EP in 2018, followed by a full solo album in 2019, which peaked at number 30 on the Billboard 200 and number 17 on the UK Albums Chart.
Struggles With Alcohol and Substance Abuse
Over the years, Payne has been vocal about his struggles with drugs and alcohol. In 2021, right after coming back from rehab, he recorded an interview with the Diary of a CEO, in which he revealed he struggled with alcoholism and severe suicidal thoughts back in his One Direction days, saying: “When we were in the band, the best way to secure us, because of how big it got, was to just lock us in our rooms. And of course, what’s in the room? A minibar. So, at a certain point, I thought, well I’m going to have a party-for-one! And that just seemed to carry on throughout many years of my life.”
But all signs point to the fact that Payne’s substance abuse didn’t end with him leaving One Direction. As tragic as this is, it’s hardly surprising: many celebrities with his level of fame struggle with issues like alcohol and substance abuse, problem gambling, and even sex addiction. In the interview, he also admitted to the pandemic being an especially tough time for him, stating that he often found himself hiding his tipsiness while on Zoom meetings and finding excuses for his alcohol-associated weight gain.
Personal life
Payne was a father to a six-year-old boy named Bear, whom he shared with British pop singer Cheryl, 41. In the same year that Payne was competing for the X Factor title with One Direction, Cheryl was also an X Factor judge. Not even the 10-year age difference stopped their romance, with the duo getting together years later and having a child together—although splitting shortly after.
Payne went on to have several other relationships, including a 3-year-old relationship with Maya Henry, an American model and Payne’s now ex-fiancé, who recently filed a cease and desist letter to Payne after reporting he won’t stop contacting her and her family despite the couple having ended their relationship in 2022. In an interview released shortly before Payne’s tragic passing, Henry details how Payne would often talk about his own death and manipulate her into staying in contact with him because he ‘wasn’t doing well.’ However, when offered help, Henry says he would never take it and would resort to obsessive messaging to her and her mother.
An investigation into the death of Liam Payne is being conducted to determine whether the fall was accidental or deliberate.
