Liam Payne's difficult years after One Direction

Liam Payne fell from a third-floor balcony in a hotel in Buenos Aires on October 16th, 2024, and tragically lost his life. The singer was just 31 years old and his life had been marked by substance abuse and trauma.

The hotel in South America was where Liam Payne spent 2 weeks before he died. On the day of his death, the hotel rang the police to ask for their assistance as one of their guests (Payne) was trashing his room 'when conscious'. Shortly after, he fell three stories and, as many media report, fractured his skull.

Payne was part of an incredibly successful boy band, but the singer struggled to become famous and took it hard when the band ended in 2015. These big changes in his life possibly had an extreme effect on his mental health and coping with relationships.

Liam Payne was thrust into the spotlight when he joined One Direction at just 14. He auditioned for the X Factor but was told to come back a few years later. Which he did. He joined the Cowell-made group and became a member of one of the world's biggest boy bands ever.

Fame at such an early age has taken its toll on many young stars and Liam Payne was no exception. He struggled with relationships, the instant rise to fame, and the dynamics within the band.

In August 2015, One Direction announced they would be taking a 'hiatus' to focus on other projects. It was hard for Payne, but he was optimistic this might not be the end: "I think we’ll get back together," Liam said in an interview with Ant Middleton. "But it’s not on me. I am at peace with it. A few people haven't made peace with it yet and are chasing different dreams."

It was indeed a sad end for the band and a sad moment for Liam. He said at the time: "It all got a little bit weird as it all finished. When we split, that was like getting to know the feeling of growing up. That was my childhood."

Zayn Malik said in 2016 that he was "still probably the closest to Liam." He told NME that Liam had "congratulated me on my single, which was nice. I congratulated him on his Brit Award. It was a good chat. We haven't met up in a long time so we want to meet up."

Liam Payne struggled to love himself during and after the One Direction years. He revealed to Ant Middleton in 2019 that he has battled thoughts of taking his own life and that he was "lucky to still be here".

In the otherwise openhearted conversation with Ant Middleton, he concluded that he couldn't give too many details about his mental struggles.  "I can't go too deep into it," he said. "I haven't made my peace with it..."

Photo: Sky

When he was new to the band, Payne recalls one moment when he'd been trying to enjoy some quality time with his mother and father, Geoff and Karen, and he realized he really "hated" his life.

Followed by paps everywhere he went, he was at a meal in a restaurant when a cameraman accidentally bumped into his mother and pushed her over. "I cried my eyes out... I thought, 'I can't do this'," he told The Daily Star. "I just wanted a burger with my parents."

"I was drinking too much and getting into really bad, bad situations for quite some time actually," Payne said, clearly emphasizing that this was not a fleeting feeling, and his demons had stayed around for rather a long while.

"And I hit a peak moment where I knew the drinking was going to get me; I needed to do something about it. I spent a lot of time d r i n k i n g to escape the crazy world that I had created for myself."

When asked about how he coped, Liam said: "I’ve been in a bad place… It [taking his life] has been on the menu a couple of times in my life. Luckily I had great people around me. When things start to pile up on you, it can get you, and you can only control you. You have to get on with it."

Trying to get himself better, he opted for therapy but remained troubled. He passed away at the age of 31. Payne is leaving a son, Bear Gray (2017) whom he parented with former girlfriend Cheryl Cole.

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