The Tragic Story Of Liam Payne's Life

This article includes mentions of mental health issues, addiction, and suicide.

Liam Payne may have lit up millions of fans' lives as a former One Direction member and subsequent solo artist, but his life behind the scenes was vastly different. The U.K. native battled several demons while he rose to fame as a part of the popular boy band and continued to wrestle with his personal life even after they split in 2016. Finding his footing after the shakeup, as well as welcoming his first child shortly after, was an up-and-down journey for the star, who admitted to struggling with his mental health behind closed doors. 

The "One Thing" singer got his first break after performing on "The X Factor" in 2010. After he, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinson failed to progress through the competition as solo artists, the judges had them form the group One Direction. While they didn't end up going all the way to the end, their success on the show cemented their status as a global phenomenon. One Direction became the first U.K. group to top the charts in the United States with their debut album, eventually selling over 65 million albums worldwide.

Unfortunately for Payne, he couldn't quite capitalize on the same success during his solo career. His second solo album was delayed due to mishaps with his management, and he seemed to enter into a downward spiral in the days that followed. About a week after news of his album being postponed, Payne tragically died after falling from a third-floor balcony while staying at a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. While the investigation continues into his untimely death, fans across the globe grapple with the loss of the beloved artist. Here's a look at the tragic story of Liam Payne's life — from global superstar to tortured musician.

Liam Payne admitted he was lucky to be alive after spending years in the hospital as a child. In the book "Dare to Dream: Life as One Direction," the singer revealed that he was born prematurely and was often sick throughout his early years, with doctors unable to discover his underlying condition. 

Describing himself as "effectively dead" after birth, Payne elaborated: "From the age of zero to four I was always in hospital having tests done but they couldn't find out what was wrong" (per Hindustan Times). Ultimately, doctors found the issue was one of his kidneys, which was scarred and not fully functioning.

Payne's efforts to get well involved receiving 32 injections in his arm day and night. "I've still got both kidneys but one doesn't work so I have to be careful not to drink too much, even water, and I have to keep myself as healthy as possible," the artist expressed. 

Liam Payne wasn't a part of the popular crowd growing up. The "Strip That Down" singer spoke to We Love Pop (via Pressparty) about his earlier years, sharing that he was often a victim of bullying at school. 

"When I was at school I was bullied by a few people who were much older than me," he recalled. "I was in year eight and they were sixth-formers. I went and told me parents and my teachers, but it didn't stop so I had to sort it out myself." Payne eventually took up boxing so he could learn self-defense. "It gave me the confidence to know that if I needed to, I could fight back and I could stand up to anyone." The former One Direction member even employed an older friend of his to pose as his brother and give him rides in order to curb the bullying. "And as soon as they saw him it suddenly stopped," he noted.

Payne's teenage years didn't get any easier, and the singer mentioned that he found himself the victim of negative comments and ridicule after he failed to make it far when he first tried out for "The X Factor" in 2008. "I once went in McDonald's when I was turning 16 and I went up to order my thing, went to sit down with the girl I was with at the time and a group of lads at the top of the stairs were like, 'X Factor reject!'" he told The Sun. Payne did his best to use his platform for good after gaining notoriety, and he teamed up with Billboard and spoke out on World Day of Bullying Prevention in 2018 as part of their STOMP Out Bullying initiative.

In what seemed to be a disturbing foreshadowing, a photo of Liam Payne posing near the edge of his 34th-floor apartment terrace in 2014 was posted online. The shot was snapped during the celebration of his then-bandmate Zayn Malik's 21st birthday and posted by one of Payne's friends before being promptly deleted. 

After fans reacted to the eerie shot, taken at night, the singer issued a statement on X, formerly Twitter. "You may have seen a photo of me today taken on top of a building," he acknowledged. "I regret being there and having a photo taken." While the photo seemed like a harmless enough stunt at the time, viewers resurfaced the image in the wake of Payne's death, comparing the incident to his fatal fall.

Fans were devastated upon hearing the news of One Direction's split in 2016, which occurred not long after Zayn Malik decided to first jump ship the year earlier. Liam Payne stated that it was difficult to find his footing after parting with his bandmates, especially after their incredible journey together, finding fame and fortune. 

"I think the biggest question for all of us at the start was figuring out who the hell we were without each other around, which is a really weird thing because you'd found your dynamic and role within the band," he told GQ. Payne and the other bandmates, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik, all pursued solo careers following the band's breakup, a phase that was full of growing pains for the singer. "But then when you started a solo thing it was almost like leaving like school or university and trying to find your place within the real world."

Payne elaborated that he even sought out therapy in the years that followed One Direction's demise, not knowing what he should do with his newfound freedom. "I kind of went off the rails a little bit and just couldn't really figure out what was making me sad," he said. "What actually happens at this point?" he remembered asking himself. "Who do I call? Who is the 'point of' person?'"

Eventually, the singer managed to find his direction post One Direction. He released a few notable singles alongside the likes of Rita Ora and Quavo in 2017 and 2018 that fared well in the U.K., but his first solo album "LP1" in 2019 was met with lackluster reviews. 

Liam Payne got candid about his mental health in 2019, admitting that he suffered serious bouts of depression. In an interview with Sunday Confidential, the star revealed that he struggled privately while juggling the spotlight, telling the outlet, "I've had my meltdowns and different things have happened to me where I definitely wasn't OK." Therapy became his saving grace, however, as he communicated that he started seeking out professional help regularly to better his mental health.

Payne also hit the gym to deal with his demons, expressing that exercise was a form of escape. He also kept a good circle of friends alongside him that he could count on, including his then-girlfriend, Maya Henry. He posted a photo of himself cheesing alongside her at the time to Instagram at the time, writing (per the Daily Mail), "Sometimes I don't recognise this happy guy ... sure glad you brought him back though."

Liam Payne mentioned that continuing with One Direction would have been a disastrous decision. In an episode of the podcast "Table Manners," the "Both Ways" singer expressed that his life with the boy band became a frenzy before they split. "There's no stop button. You've got no control over your life. That's why I lost complete control of everything," he commented.

Being overworked and overbooked meant that Payne lost sight of who he was and his true passions in life, something he attempted to rediscover through therapy. "I remember getting to therapy and the guy was like 'What do you like to do?' I didn't know," he shared. 

The former One Direction member likened himself to a "recluse" during the height of his former boy band fame and has even sought out retreats to learn "how to be a person" after shooting to global superstardom when he was just a teenager. Looking back, he was happy One Direction broke up, asserting, "I needed to stop. It would've killed me."

Liam Payne admitted that he wasn't exactly the best of friends with his former One Direction bandmates. In an interview on "Sunday Brunch" in 2019, the star compared being in the band to working alongside coworkers. "The thing I always describe it as is if you imagine an office — and One Direction was my office — there's one person you don't really get along with, one person you don't know very much about, one person you hang out with all the time, and someone you're sort of friends with." While he wasn't specific about who he wasn't friendly with, he called it a "misconception" that fans would believe them to be "massive mates." 

In his 2019 GQ interview, the "Stack It Up" artist explained that while bygones are bygones when it comes to the group's past, one particular incident stuck with him for years following the disbanding. "I think with Zayn's particular exit and the way he chose to go, we haven't really heard from him since he left," he articulated, adding that Malik left without even saying goodbye. "It was a really sordid scenario, from our side certainly. A bit strange. It's difficult." 

Liam Payne became a dad with the birth of his son Bear in 2017, but fatherhood didn't exactly come seamlessly for the pop star. Payne welcomed Bear with his then-girlfriend, singer Cheryl Tweedy, but the couple split the following year. 

Payne had Bear when he was 23 years old, and he admitted he had a lot of work to do to step into his new role.  "I had my son at a young age, and you think it will be a magical thing, that you're going to grow up one day into the person you're supposed to be," he shared with People. "But it took a lot to find my footing. I figured, Dad takes care of everyone, that's what he does, so my thing was to cook." 

The COVID-19 pandemic also proved a major obstacle for Payne and his child, as he was forced to take a step back in their relationship. "[Lockdown] it's the longest I haven't seen him [Bear] in his life," the former One Direction member explained to Tings Magazine. "But we discussed from the start and for different reasons, me and Cheryl decided I should be away for a little bit, it's not unusual for me to be in and out of his life." But fans weren't pleased with his comments, with many criticizing his absence in Bear's life.

Liam Payne may have lived incredible highs while touring with One Direction, but he was also experiencing incredible lows as well. The star expressed in an interview with "The Diary Of A CEO" podcast in 2021 that he was often holed up in hotel rooms during tours, and he quickly found alcohol to be a dependency of his on the road. 

"In the band ... the best way to secure us, because of how big we'd got, was just to lock us in our rooms," Payne recalled. "What's in the room? A minibar." The artist explained that pills and alcohol became his drugs of choice, and in his lowest moments, he experienced suicidal thoughts. "I was worried how far my rock bottom was going to be. Where's rock bottom for me? And you would never have seen it. I'm very good at hiding it," he acknowledged. "I don't even know if I've hit it yet." 

Liam Payne secretly underwent rehab for over three months in 2023, later revealing the news to his fans in a YouTube video. "I just needed to take a little bit of time out for myself actually because I kind of became somebody who I didn't really recognize anymore," he said after the 100-day stay, adding, "And I'm sure you guys didn't either."

Payne admitted at the time that he had been sober for the last six months, admitting that his son Bear had helped put things into perspective. "There's no point trying to be a dad when you've nothing to teach," he explained. "I don't think up until this point I really had much to say to him other than just caring for him deeply and loving him very deeply, which are obviously the most important things." 

His decision to enter rehab was inspired partly by his interview with Youtuber Logan Paul, in which he made several shocking claims like Simon Cowell promising him a subsequent solo career upon joining the group in 2010. He also alluded to One Direction member Zayn Malik shoving him alongside a wall once and criticized his former girlfriend Gigi Hadid, for calling Malik a "respectful man." Payne recognized the toxicity in his words however, noting in his YouTube video, "What I just said just came from the wrong place. I was so angry at what was going on around me, and instead of taking [a] look inwards, I decided to look outwards at everybody else."

Liam Payne tragically died in October of 2024 after falling from his hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was just 31 years old at the time of his death. The singer had been staying in the South American city alongside his girlfriend Kate Cassidy, but she had left a few days before him, and he later got a room at the Casa Sur Palermo Hotel. Police later discovered he had fallen from his third-floor balcony, not long after reports of an "aggressive" male were phoned into 911. Not long before Payne died after 5 p.m., the star had been carried back to his hotel room by security after his frantic behavior in the lobby.

The Sun obtained photos from inside Payne's suite originally published by Argentinian newspaper Clarin, which show a frenzied scene that included a smashed television set, a leftover champagne glass, and evidence of white powder and scraps of burned aluminum foil. The news came just days after Payne posted a dramatically different scene on his Snapchat alongside Cassidy, depicting their carefree vacation and plans to ride horses during their trip. He was also seen earlier in the month enjoying Niall Horan's concert, reuniting with his former bandmate backstage and posting a selfie of the two to his Snapchat, writing, "Reunited" alongside a red heart emoji (via the Daily Mail).

News of Payne's death rocked the world, with many heartfelt tributes pouring in from his family and fellow artists. Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinson posted a statement following the tragedy, writing, "We're completely devastated by the news of Liam's passing. In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say. But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly.

If you or anyone you know needs help with mental health, substance abuse, or suicidal thoughts, contact the relevant resources below:

• The Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.
• The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
• Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.