After Maya Henry’s recent book inspiration came to light, former fans of Liam Payne are sharing their own stories of alleged abuse of power.

Ever since he came into the spotlight in 2010, Liam Payne, has been no stranger to media attention. From his time as a member of One Direction to his marriage to Cheryl Cole and his relationship with Maya Henry, the 31-year-old’s private life had become a spectacle in the public eye. Although it all seemed like smooth sailing for the star, recent allegations from a fan have cast a dark shadow over his public image.

One Direction’s Liam Payne | Credits: Brett Robson – Global Photographics via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0

Payne was dubbed Daddy Direction for being the most mature member of the boy band. However, it looks like there was a darker side to the singer that the world had not seen yet.

The allegations against Liam Payne

Liam Payne has often been seen as the glue that held One Direction together. However, his past relationships proved that the star has not been the best partner. With his ex-fiance, Maya Henry, alleging that the star was abusive towards her during their relationship, some fans have rushed in to support the 23-year-old and share their own experiences. In a post to TikTok, a former Directioner by the name, Ashley, shared her own story about the star.

Liam Payne | Credits: vagueonthehow via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0

Liam was my favorite, he knew that. He messaged me on Instagram. At first I was like, ‘Oh my god, he’s messaging my Instagram like, this is so cool. Like what? How is this happening?’ And then it turned into him asking me for explicit videos and explicit photos. And I would send them because I was like, ‘It’s Liam Payne, Im going to send them.’ Like this was me being delusional at age 24-25, and this went on for two years.

She continued, “This is during times where he was in relationships, having babies. He was messaging me like 2 weeks after his baby was born.” With the situation with Payne lasting over two years, fans assumed that the TikToker was either getting from the star or wanted attention. However, she added, “And just to clarify, he never gave me anything in return.” Although everyone seemed to be torn about the accusation, Henry chimed in, claiming that this wasn’t the first time she had heard of this. In fact, even other users on the platform ended up coming forward (via X).

The claims against Payne are only accusations at the moment. However, the claims have only helped back up Henry’s alleged emotional abuse accusations against the 31-year-old.

Maya Henry subtly hints at emotional abuse by ex-Liam Payne

Back in 2019, Liam Payne and Maya Henry’s love story hit the tabloids. Although the couple had an eight-year difference, they seemed to look past their differences and even tried to build a life together. By 2020, they had gotten engaged. But the fairytale was short-lived when the couple split just 2 years later. Now, with the 23-year-old’s recent new novel called Looking Forward, coming out, it sheds a different light on their union. In an interview with People, the former model spoke about her inspiration for the book.

Liam Payne during a One Direction concert in 2015 | Credits: Ashley Newby via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0

Obviously the book is fiction, definitely inspired by true events… [The main character] Mallory is very similar to me, and that’s why it was very easy for me to write her character and put the emotion in there. I’m just grateful that I have this opportunity and platform to really help be a voice for women.

Henry opened up about their age gap and dynamic by adding, “I don’t know if it was a power imbalance, [but] I feel like maybe my love was taken advantage of in a way.” After all, she wrote a rather toxic scene between her character, Mallory, and the superstar boyfriend, Oliver. In the scene, the couple had found out they were pregnant.

The musician had given his partner an ultimatum instead of being overjoyed – get an abortion or say goodbye to their relationship. Henry revealed that the scene had to be written as she felt as though other women could relate to it.