Liam Payne's life, from being 'Daddy Direction' in the band to his mental health struggles

His decease came arsenic a daze to many, with Payne surviving his parents, 2 siblings, and seven-year-old son, Bear, whom helium shares with Girls Aloud subordinate Cheryl Tweedy.

Long earlier helium was an existent father, Payne was jokingly referred to arsenic “Daddy Direction” by fans and his bandmates — Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik — a statement helium took seriously, contempt being successful his teens. Taking things earnestly was Liam’s “thing.” 

One Direction, the boyband Payne was selected for, aged 16, portion appearing connected The X Factor, was built connected strict roles. Zayn was the mysterious one, Niall the boyish one, Harry the prima with solo appeal. Louis and Liam jostled for the person position, which led to disagreements. People struggled to spot Liam into a pre-made box. Fans retrieve him arsenic the “serious” one, but successful a Guardian nonfiction from 2015, helium is referred to simply arsenic “The Generic One.”

“While the Generic One is not needfully the astir awesome vocalist oregon the champion looking, possibly these unremarkable qualities marque beingness aft the set much bearable,” the nonfiction reads. “The boyband’s eventual winner.”

Liam Payne wanted to beryllium a vocalist truthful severely that he’d already been done assorted stages of The X Factor earlier the different boys adjacent made their archetypal audition. His placement successful the radical and abrupt emergence to a blistering, bonkers level of stardom meant that helium grew up successful the blink of a cardinal eyes. He’s spoken of a teenage-hood spent locked successful edifice rooms. “It would beryllium car, edifice country stage, sing, locked,” Payne said connected the Diary of a CEO podcast successful 2021 — with the minibar arsenic his main companion.

After the set broke up, Payne spiralled into addiction and struggled with an uneasy commencement to his solo career. His album, LP1, was panned by critics. In a 4.3 people reappraisal written by Pitchfork, the reviewer wrote “Payne is, astatine best, competent.” 

Here, we look astatine Liam Payne’s beingness earlier the madness of the past month, backmost to erstwhile helium was a young boy, thrust into the blinding spotlight.

Payne was calved successful Wolverhampton successful August 1993, to parent Karen, an babe nurse, and Geoff, a fitter. He was sick arsenic a child, with kidney problems discovered astatine a young age. “When I was calved I was efficaciously dead,” Payne wrote successful One Direction’s 2011 biography Dare to Dream — Life arsenic One Direction.

“The doctors couldn't get immoderate absorption from maine truthful I had to beryllium brought circular and though it seemed similar I was okay, determination were underlying problems.

Payne was calved prematurely, 3 weeks earlier than his owed date. After endless tests, “They discovered that 1 of my kidneys wasn't moving decently and it had scarred. I had to person 32 injections successful my limb successful the greeting and evening to effort and marque maine better,” helium wrote.

“I've inactive got some kidneys but 1 doesn't enactment truthful I person to beryllium cautious not to portion excessively much, adjacent water, and I person to support myself arsenic steadfast arsenic possible.”

By the clip Payne had reached schoolhouse age, helium was healthy, having taken up moving arsenic a hobby. More than a hobby, successful fact. For 3 years, Payne was ranked successful the apical 3 1500m runners successful the state for his property group.

But it was singing that had Payne’s heart. His parent Karen juggled her nursery shifts with driving Liam to auditions, including those for The X Factor backmost successful 2008. 

Payne archetypal auditioned for The X Factor successful Birmingham successful 2008. “When I’m successful schoolhouse [...] I deliberation astir singing each the time,” 14-year-old Liam says to the camera, speaking successful his West Midlands accent. “I should truly beryllium concentrating connected my enactment but I deliberation astir singing excessively much. It’s the imagination and I’d emotion to bash it.”

In the audition room, a young Liam stands successful beforehand of Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and the past Cheryl Cole (who helium would spell connected to person a kid with) and declares that he’s “here to win”, earlier singing Fly Me to the Moon by Frank Sinatra.

Liam made it arsenic acold arsenic the judges houses conception successful Barbados earlier being booted disconnected the amusement that year, but it was past that Simon Cowell made him a promise. “Simon said to me, ‘You request to spell and get your GCSEs,’ [before coming back]” Liam recalled successful a aboriginal X Factor clip.

Sure enough, successful 2010, 16-year-old Liam Payne returned to The X Factor audition country and sang the Michael Bublé mentation of Cry Me a River by Justin Timberlake. He received a lasting ovation for his performance, but judges were privately unconvinced by his quality arsenic a solo performer. As it turns out, they felt the aforesaid mode astir 4 different boys too.

In a clip from down the scenes of The X Factor successful 2010, Nicole Scherzinger forms the band. First comes Niall, Harry and Louis. Another justice requests that Liam beryllium moved to a antithetic group, but Scherzinger disagrees and says that she thinks helium would "definitely shine" with the different 3 boys. "He could really possibly beryllium the leader," she says. Cowell past points retired that Liam "thinks he's amended than anyone other connected that list," to which Louis Walsh agrees. Finally, Zayn is added to the group, and One Direction was formed.

Looking backmost connected this infinitesimal successful 2022, Liam told the Logan Paul podcast: “We got kicked off, each of us, and past maine and Niall [Horan] were astir to get the bid successful Houston and this pistillate came moving down america and was like, ‘Yo, delight travel back, the judges privation to talk to you.”

“And they’d already done this to maine once, truthful I was like, ‘What the… are you gonna messiness with my emotions immoderate more? I’m already brainsick enough, convey you precise much.”

One Direction was formed connected July 23, 2010. All of the boys were aged betwixt 16 and 18 astatine the time, with Liam being some the 3rd eldest and 3rd youngest. He became known arsenic “daddy direction” for being the sensible, “mature” 1 and acting older than the others. It was a nickname partially coined by Louis Tomlinson, who explained: “I similar benignant of conscionable sitting down and chatting with Liam astir much superior stuff, similar if you're feeling a spot down, travel and speech to daddy Liam.”

The band’s fame was astir instant. Even though One Direction lone placed arsenic runners up (Matt Cardle was named arsenic winner, Rebecca Ferguson 2nd place) successful December 2010, the fledgling lad set rapidly eclipsed the occurrence of anyone other who had preceded them connected the UK mentation of the show.

One Direction released their archetypal single, What Makes You Beautiful, successful August 2011. It debuted astatine fig 1 connected the UK Singles Chart and stayed determination for a whopping 78 weeks. America got connected committee too, a uncommon occurrence for a UK lad set consecutive retired of a endowment show, with the azygous reaching fig 4 connected the Billboard Hot 100. From there, it lone got bigger.

Fans followed them successful cars, slept extracurricular their hotels and hid successful bins for a accidental to get a glimpse of the One Direction boys. They were enactment to enactment making their archetypal album, Up All Night, past instantly sent connected tour, during which Payne has said they’d beryllium “locked” successful their edifice rooms to support them retired of trouble. 

This is wherever Payne reckoned his issues with intoxicant began. Speaking connected the Diary of a CEO podcast, helium recalled: “[...] erstwhile we were successful the set the champion mode to unafraid america due to the fact that of however large it got was conscionable to fastener america successful our rooms and of people what’s successful the room, minibar.

“So, astatine a definite point, I thought ‘Well I’m going to person a enactment for one’ and that conscionable seemed to transportation connected done galore years of my life’. And past you look backmost astatine however agelong you’ve been drinking and you deliberation ‘Jesus Christ that’s a agelong time’, adjacent for idiosyncratic arsenic young arsenic I was. It was chaotic but it was the lone mode you could get vexation retired successful the day.”

“I spoke to idiosyncratic astir this and successful kid development, arsenic a teen, the 1 happening you request is state to marque choices and state to bash worldly and it was the 1 thing, though we could bash thing we wanted it seemed from the outside, that we were ever locked successful a country astatine nighttime and past it would beryllium car, edifice country stage, sing, locked. So, it was similar they pulled the particulate cloth off, fto america retired for a infinitesimal and past [put us] backmost underneath.”

At this point, One Direction were seldom seeing their families. In a clip from the 2013 movie One Direction: This Is Us, Liam’s mum, Karen, breaks down arsenic she purchases a Liam Payne cardboard cutout, saying: “That's my favourite hairsbreadth connected Liam [on the cutout], I emotion that one. I conscionable shed tears conscionable looking astatine him. You've lone got the images. They go idiosyncratic successful similar a paper oregon a mag to you [...] I ever believed that Liam would marque it, but ne'er this big. Never successful my wildest dreams this big.'

In 2014, portion interviewing his bandmates astatine the Brits, Payne asks Louis Tomlinson however they’re each feeling, to which helium replies: “Quite antithetic to you Liam Payne due to the fact that you’ve consumed a batch of alcohol, perchance excessively much,” to which Liam replies, “This is true, I won’t sanction immoderate bully brands but I’ve had a precise bully time.” 

Then, aboriginal that year, the set were publically shamed aft a representation appeared to amusement them smoking a joint, marking the archetypal clip immoderate of the 1D boys had been linked to drugs. Speaking for the group, Liam wrote connected societal media: "I emotion my boys and possibly things person gone a small sideways. I apologise for that. We are lone successful our 20s, we each bash anserine things astatine this age.

"We each person a batch of increasing up to bash successful an utmost circumstance. I'm not making excuse[s] but it's information we are gunna autumn abbreviated somewhere.”

In March 2015, Zayn Malik decided to permission the group, marking the opening of the extremity for One Direction. They released 1 medium arsenic a four-piece, Made successful the A.M., earlier announcing an “indefinite hiatus” successful December 2015. 

The breakup led to different dip successful Payne’s intelligence health, which helium aboriginal admitted “nearly killed him”.

“There person been immoderate pugnacious times,” helium told KISS FM successful 2018. “When the set started our interruption I struggled with the thought of becoming celebrated again, it frightened the surviving daylights retired of me. Because the past clip it astir killed me, frankly [...] So I had to fig retired a mode to marque it enactment for maine  — alternatively than maine enactment for it.”

In December 2015, erstwhile One Direction performed for the past clip arsenic portion of The X Factor final, Payne was reunited with Cheryl Tweedy. At the time, Tweedy’s matrimony with her 2nd husband, Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini, was connected the rocks. By February 2016, the mates had split.

It was astir this clip that galore suspected Payne and Tweedy were secretly dating. This was confirmed successful May of 2016, erstwhile they appeared arm-in-arm astatine the Global Gift Gala successful Paris. At this point, Liam Payne was 22 years old, and Cheryl Tweedy was 32 years old, a 10 twelvemonth property difference.

Less than a twelvemonth later, the brace welcomed a lad named Bear unneurotic successful March 2017. “My adjacent friends and household cognize determination are precise fewer times erstwhile I’m near speechless… wow,” wrote Liam, announcing Bear’s commencement connected Instagram. “I’m incredibly blessed to invited our caller babe lad into the world.”

“It’s a infinitesimal that I volition ne'er hide for the remainder of my beingness and my favourite representation I person truthful far. I’m wholly successful awe of his unthinkable parent and however she has been the full mode done this, she’s truly made my dreams travel true.”

The brace stayed unneurotic for conscionable implicit a twelvemonth pursuing Bear’s birth. Payne aboriginal divulged becoming a genitor is what caused the breakdown of his narration with Tweedy, telling the Logan Paul podcast: “You don't cognize what is coming and it's different. And to beryllium honorable with you, it ruined a narration for maine astatine that constituent but for each the close reasons. I was truthful excited for him to beryllium calved that I was really disquieted if I wouldn't emotion him enough."

In this interview, helium besides praised Tweedy’s parenting skills, saying: “She is the champion mum successful the world. I couldn't inquire for idiosyncratic amended [...] We broke up for a crushed and present she gives maine afloat autonomy of my beingness and to bash what I bash and I cognize he's taken attraction of.

"He is each she cares astir and I couldn't inquire for more. They unrecorded similar 3 minutes from my house. I ever glue myself to wherever helium is. My beingness present is his. My wealth is his. He's a lovely, beauteous boy. We've been blessed."

Cole has besides made comments astir their palmy co-parenting situation, telling The Telegraph successful 2019: “[Liam is] overmuch softer than me. But it is what it is, and I’m OK astir it [...] When you person a baby, you are not consumed with conscionable reasoning astir yourself. It’s your work to support things settled and happy, truthful you marque the champion of everything. And we have."

Payne has been successful 2 superior relationships since helium and Tweedy divided successful 2018. He dated exemplary and writer Maya Henry connected and disconnected from 2018 to 2022, with the brace adjacent getting engaged successful 2020. The mates divided successful 2022 aft Henry accused him of cheating.

But their fractious narration didn’t extremity there. Henry openly accused Payne of harassment earlier this month, saying helium had taken utmost measures to effort to interaction her pursuing their breakup. “Ever since we broke up, helium messages me, volition stroke up my phone, not lone from his telephone number, it’s ever from antithetic telephone numbers, truthful I ne'er cognize wherever it’s going to travel from,” she said successful a TikTok video.

In mid October, Henry was said to person appointed lawyers and issued a cease and desist announcement to Payne to halt his contact.

At the clip of his death, Payne was successful a semipermanent narration with Kate Cassidy, a 25-year-old exemplary and societal media influencer from New Jersey. Cassidy and Payne had been dating since 2022, aft helium and Henry called it quits.

Payne was staying with Cassidy successful the Buenos Aires edifice wherever helium died, but she near days earlier his death. “I was truthful acceptable to leave,” she said connected societal media earlier his death. “Love South America, but I hatred staying successful 1 spot for excessively agelong and we were expected to beryllium determination for 5 days, turned into 2 weeks and I was conscionable like, 'I request to spell home.’”

Liam Payne officially launched his solo vocation successful 2021, erstwhile helium released his archetypal single, Strip That Down, followed by an album, LP1. The azygous was commercially successful, reaching  fig 3 connected the UK Singles Chart and fig 10 connected the US Billboard Hot 100, arsenic good arsenic becoming certified platinum successful some countries. 

But LP1 was heavy critiqued with euphony journalists giving one-star reviews and offering biting condemnation of the album’s “rowdy”, “catty” lyrics.

While connected the promo way for LP1, Payne opened up astir his struggles with addiction for the archetypal clip during an interrogation with The Diary of a CEO podcast, hosted by Steven Bartlett. As good arsenic the comments astir his One Direction days, drinking successful edifice rooms and raiding the mini bar, helium referenced being astatine “rock bottom”. 

“I don’t adjacent cognize if I’ve deed it yet,” helium says, “it feels similar I tin either marque that prime present and prime that past infinitesimal arsenic my stone [...] oregon I tin marque a full caller one. It’s my choice.”

Then, successful July 2023, Payne shared that helium was connected a travel towards sobriety aft spending 100 days successful a rehab installation successful Louisiana. “I conscionable benignant of consciousness similar I've got much of a grip connected beingness and everything that was getting distant from me, I conscionable consciousness similar I've got much of a grip connected it.

“I conscionable needed to instrumentality a small spot of clip retired for myself really due to the fact that I benignant of became idiosyncratic who I didn't truly recognise anymore and I'm definite you guys didn't either. I was successful atrocious signifier up until that constituent and I was truly blessed to benignant of enactment a stopper to beingness and work.”

Payne besides referenced Louis Tomlinson’s portion successful his intelligence wellness struggles successful 2023, penning successful an Instagram caption: “I’m truthful thankful to person you successful my beingness mate I consciousness truthful fortunate and I cognize you cognize this but you were portion of a tiny radical of radical that virtually saved my life, you dragged maine retired of thing truthful acheronian I’ve ne'er shared it but your attack is thing I respect and aspire to, truthful I tin 1 time bash the same.”

Payne’s sobriety came into question earlier this period erstwhile helium was filmed dancing and playing up to the cameras astatine chap One Direction prima Niall Horan’s performance successful Argentina. Payne decided to proceed his enactment successful Buenos Aires, but fell to his decease from a edifice balcony past night, connected October 16.

Numerous radical person paid tribute, including Harry Styles’ mother, who wrote a station online that work simply: “Just a boy.” Payne’s ain household said they were “heartbroken,” and that “Liam volition everlastingly unrecorded successful our hearts and we’ll [remember] him for his kind, comic and brave soul. We are supporting each different the champion we tin arsenic a household and inquire for privateness and abstraction astatine this atrocious time.”