Cheryl saved Liam Payne in his darkest hour before final spiral: 'What did she do?'

Cheryl and Liam Payne

Cheryl supported Liam Payne in his darkest hour before his death (
Image: Getty Images)

Late One Direction star Liam Payne and Girls Aloud’s Cheryl split when their son Bear was just 12 months old, but the pair remained amicable as they co-parented together

Liam Payne credited his ex-girlfriend Cheryl for saving him in his darkest hour before his tragic death aged 31. The former One Direction star sadly passed away after falling from a third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, last October.

In June 2022, Liam appeared on Logan Paul’s podcast and made several controversial comments, claiming that 1D was formed around himself and that he outsold his fellow bandmates with his debut single. He spoke about his feud with Justin Bieber and claimed he had an argument backstage with a 1D member. The interview caused a massive uproar amongst his fanbase and played a contributing factor in him hitting ‘rock bottom’.

He later admitted that he was in ‘bad shape’ and spent three months in a wellness clinic in Louisiana, US, to focus on himself and his mental health. During his 100-day stay, he went sober, had minimal contact with the outside world and spent a lot of time focusing on art and poetry. In July 2023, Liam uploaded a video on YouTube called ‘I’m Back…’, where he opened up about seeking help.

Cheryl and Liam share a son, Bear (
Image:
Dave Benett/Getty Images for Uni)

The pair split but remained friends (
Image:
Getty Images for Chopard)
In the clip, he thanked his ex-girlfriend and mother of his son, Cheryl, for supporting his decision to get better and added that his former bandmates had stuck by him and ‘came to my rescue’. He said the podcast interview was “hard for me to watch back” but that in a way, it had “saved my life” by making him seek help. “I needed to take some time out for myself. I kind of became someone who I didn’t really recognise any more,” he said.

“I was so angry at what was going on around me that instead of taking a look inwards, I decided to take it outwards on everybody else. It was wrong really, and my own frustrations with my own career. I want to apologise for that. The rest of the boys have really stuck by me and when I needed them most they kind of came to my rescue, even Zayn. It was hard for me to watch back. I think in those moments when you make those videos you don’t really realise the impact that your words might have on other people. Looking back on it, the whole podcast was a big ‘L’. In fact, it’s probably one of those life-changing moments that saved my life in a way.”

Liam added: “Honestly more than anything I want to say thank you to Bear and his mum for giving me a little bit of freedom to go and get well, as I had to. There is no point trying to be a dad when you have nothing to teach. I feel like I have a grip on life now. After I got back out, that process had worked for me, but there were still some little bits left that I kind of had to deal with myself.”

This week, Liam’s ex-fiancée Maya Henry has claimed he was grappling with ‘parts of identity he wasn’t ready to fully face’. At the time of his death, he was in a two-year relationship with his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy. Prior to this, Liam was engaged to influencer-turned-author Maya, with whom he had a rocky romance from 2018 to 2022.

After their break-up, Maya penned a fictionalised version of her relationship with Liam in her book, Looking Forward. Just days before his untimely death, she uploaded a TikTok video alleging that Liam had been harassing her from multiple iCloud accounts.

Now, for the first time since his passing, she’s opened up in a shocking interview, claiming that Liam grappled with “identity issues” during their time together, but she doesn’t blame him for his struggles.

In an extensive written statement to Rolling Stone, Maya shed light on Liam’s personal battles. She confessed that it was Liam’s drug use that “tore them apart” and alleged he “did things to hurt me in ways I’ll never fully understand”.

Maya said: “And through it all, 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.”

I saw the signs; I felt the distance. In the end, it wasn’t just the betrayals or the addictions that broke us — it was the realisation that I had spent years in something that was never what I thought it was. I don’t fault him for his struggles. ”

Maya has made claims that Liam “became someone unrecognisable” when he was using drugs, and she tried her best to support him. A source close to Maya told the publication that Liam’s drinking, drug use and mental health issues were “such a burden” that it affected his ability to work properly.

The source also suggested that Maya felt trapped by the star’s struggles as she couldn’t “do anything”. Maya revealed that she is dealing with the “aftermath of his actions” following his death. She stated: “As I’ve uncovered the extent of his non-consensual image sharing — images he acquired during our engagement and shared without my knowledge or consent — I’m faced with the complexity of grieving for someone I cared so deeply about despite the pain they have caused me.”

Several sources told Rolling Stone that Liam “wrestled with his identity”. Another source alleged that Maya ended their relationship in 2022 due to various reasons, including Liam “revealing sexting conversations with strangers to her by accidentally broadcasting them to their TV.”

These allegations come after Argentine waiter Braian Nahuel Paiz, who has been charged with selling cocaine to the singer, which he denies, claimed that he had an “intimate” encounter with Liam. Paiz met Liam in the weeks leading up to his death and allegedly spent two separate nights with the star.

He shared on local TV about their second meeting on October 13: “We spent the night together; we consumed drugs because the truth is that something intimate happened.”

The 24-year-old waiter didn’t go into detail about the ‘intimate’ encounter, but as reported by Mail Online, he stated in a now-removed Instagram post: “I never said I had sex with anyone.”

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Cheryl saved Liam Payne in his darkest hour before final spiral: ‘What did she do?’

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