Former One Direction member Liam Payne passed away on 16 October 2024 after falling from his hotel balcony in Argentina, but the blame quickly shifted to his ex-girlfriend Maya Henry as she claimed the singer often predicted his departure as a manipulation tactic throughout their relationship.
Liam Payne had an on-and-off relationship with model Maya Henry. The pair were initially spotted together in August 2018. A year later, they revealed their bond through an Instagram post, as Payne had recently finalized his divorce from Cheryl Cole.
Despite their seemingly perfect relationship, the couple had a fair share of ups and downs before their engagement in 2019. However, they announced their first split in June 2021 before officially breaking up in 2022.
Throughout the years, Payne had received backlash from fans for dating a woman with whom he shared an eight-year age gap. Before their split, Payne mentioned that he was happy with Henry and wanted to introduce her to his son, Bear.
Further, after their breakup, Payne appeared on The Diary of a CEO podcast and talked about his time with the model.
During the episode, the singer added, “And I know what my pattern of things is with relationships, I feel at this point. I’m just not very good at them so I just need to work on myself before I put myself on to somebody else.“
Such statements clarified that the pair had unresolved issues, leading to frequent breakups.
Rumors surrounded the pair, and while Henry addressed some of them, she eventually came forward with details of Payne’s violent behavior during their engagement.
Maya Henry wrote a book about her relationship, masking Liam Payne as a fictional character!
Soon after her split and the surge in public attention, Henry released a novel, Looking Forward, which she clarified was inspired by real-life events. She had even started working on the book while still engaged to the singer.
As netizens delved deeper into the story, the book paced with the story of a model named Mallory who falls in love with a boy band member. The story touched on sensitive issues such as physical violence, substance abuse, and mental disorders.
Additionally, the 23-year-old remarked about her book, “The main character is very similar to me, and that’s why it was easy for me to write her character and put the emotions in there. What I went through in real life is very similar to what Mallory went through in the book.“
@mayahenry Replying to @marie ♬ original sound – Maya Henry
During her connection with Payne, many of their fans claimed that their love story was straight out of a fairytale, but everything wasn’t the same behind closed doors and away from the cameras.
Similarly, after constant questioning, Henry decided to reveal the singer’s dark side through her TikTok video, which quickly garnered over a million views and over 337.8k likes. However, she recently turned off the comment section due to speculations surrounding Payne’s demise.
Henry didn’t hold back in her video and claimed, “He blows up my phone, always from different phone numbers. He’s the one that is constantly doing weird shit. He says that he preys on One Direction fans because they will always be loyal to him and they won’t tell on him.”
Fans confirmed Henry’s words by attacking her for being obsessed with the singer even after years.
Speculation arose that Maya Henry planned Payne’s fall from the music industry following One Direction’s hiatus!
Days before Payne’s fall from the hotel room in Argentina, Henry had filed a lawsuit following charges of obsessive contact and issued a letter of cease. The document claimed that the singer violated Henry’s and her family’s privacy.
In an episode of The Internet Is Dead podcast, Henry alleged that Payne had unusual behavior patterns for undisclosed reasons. The model added, “He would always play with death and be like, ‘Well, I’m going to die. I’m not doing well.‘“
Even during his final days, Payne interacted with his fans, but his appearance didn’t look sober. Moreover, he was in Argentina with his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, before the unfortunate accident.
Maya Henry does NOT deserve this yall. Do you realise she has nothing to do with Liam Payne passing away? pic.twitter.com/AanXdQQDTG
— Adjusted55 (@BillPrinter00) October 16, 2024
As soon as the news of his fall spread across the media and social platforms, people flooded Henry’s accounts with hate comments, with many suggesting that the model might be rejoicing now that her violent ex had ended his life.
Further, fans have held Henry responsible for Payne’s deteriorating mental health in recent months after she revealed details about their troublesome relationship to the public. Payne had become the subject of online jokes and satire following the model’s videos and podcasts.
However, we should consider the fragile nature of the case, as Henry endured hard times with the singer and built the courage to speak up for herself and other women in similar situations.
Due to the public backlash, Henry has removed some of her TikTok videos and turned off the comment section on the platform and Instagram. Henry and other One Direction members have yet to state Payne’s demise publicly.
Additional Information
- Liam Payne debuted as a singer when he auditioned for The X Factor and was later put in One Direction, becoming one of the best-selling boy bands ever.
- According to sources, Liam Payne’s estimated net worth was $47 million as of 2020. He owned homes in Malibu, California, and Surrey that were listed for sale in 2021. Before his departure, the singer lived with his family in Buckinghamshire.
