Finding his way! Liam Payne has been learning to navigate his personal ups and downs since rising to fame as a member of One Direction in 2010.
The England native’s boy band success and later solo stardom has made finding love somewhat difficult. After an on-off romance with X-Factor dancer Danielle Peazer, Payne was linked to childhood flame Sophia Smith until 2015.
“We have talked about marriage, but 22 seems a bit young for us,” the “Strip That Down” singer told Attitude magazine in its September 2015 issue, one month before calling it quits with Smith. “Sophia needs to go off and do what she wants to do. I don’t want her to be one of those stay-at-home girlfriends who doesn’t really do much.”
Payne found himself going back to his X-Factor roots in early 2016 when he sparked a romance with Cheryl Cole, who was a judge on the talent show when he competed back in 2010.
The twosome, who share son Bear, split after two years of dating but the breakup didn’t feel real until they publicly commented on it, according to Payne.
“You break up, and then it was like a couple of days or a couple of weeks before we actually put the announcement out, and that’s the bit when it really hits home, I guess,” he told Vodafone’s Kat Shoob in August 2018. “At the same point, it’s like breaking up twice. You already did this once, and now I’m having to go through all of that again because I have to tell people I don’t even really know.”
Despite going through ups and downs with Cole, Payne tried his hand at love again in late 2018 when he started seeing Maya Henry. “Sometimes I don’t recognize this happy guy … sure glad you brought him back though,” the pop singer wrote alongside a photo of the two snuggling on a couch in September 2019.
Payne continued: “Last but not least this one @maya_henry [thanks] for always keeping the biggest smile on my face through all the stress and making me realize how perfect my life really is. Love you all let’s stack this s–t up.”
The duo got engaged in August 2020 but split one year later, which Payne blamed on himself. “I feel like more than anything at this point, I’m more disappointed in myself that I keep on hurting people,” he confessed during a June 2021 episode of the “Diary of a CEO” podcast. “That annoys me. I’ve just not been very good at relationships.”
The “Depend On It” singer and Henry reconnected later that year but called it quits once again in spring of 2022. Us Weekly confirmed in May 2022 that the duo had called off their engagement “over a month ago,” as photos surfaced of Payne packing on the PDA with influencer Aliana Mawla.
While Henry hinted that Payne’s new relationship seemingly began when they were still together, Mawla’s rep denied the allegations to Us.
“Aliana is very taken back by the accusations that have been made regarding a relationship with Liam while he was still engaged or involved with his ex-fiancée,” the rep said in a statement in May 2022, noting that the model is “very protective” of her personal life. “She is very happy and does not wish to discuss this situation moving forward.”
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Scroll down to relive all of Payne’s high-profile relationships over the years:
