Liam Payne’s ex-fiancée Maya Henry breaks silence on singer’s ‘identity’ struggles four months after his death

Liam Payne’s ex-fiancée, Maya Henry, has spoken out for the first time following the singer’s tragic death at 31.

The 23-year-old model had been in the process of taking legal action against Payne before his passing in October, having issued a cease and desist letter accusing him of persistently contacting her through multiple iCloud accounts following their 2022 split.

Henry has now spoken for the first time about her ex’s death.

Reflecting on his struggles with addiction, she shared: “On drugs, he became someone unrecognizable — so different from his sober self. I kept hoping each incident would be a wake-up call for him to get help, but it never was.”

Speaking to Rolling Stone, Henry opened up about their tumultuous relationship, revealing she had tried to support Payne through his struggles with substance abuse, but ultimately felt like she was “drowning.”

She shared, “No matter what I did, things kept getting worse.”

Payne and Henry broke off their engagement in 2021 before officially calling it quits in 2022 (PA Archive)

Henry also touched on Payne’s personal struggles, stating he was dealing with “parts of his identity he wasn’t ready to fully face,” though she did not specify further.

Reflecting on the pain their relationship caused her, she admitted: “He put me through things that broke me in ways I can’t explain. And yet, when it was all over, I was left with nothing but emptiness.”

Henry also addressed ongoing distress caused by some of the One Direction star’s actions before his passing, including “nonconsensual image sharing” of private pictures she had sent him during their engagement.

Henry ends her statement by acknowledging the difficult reality of mourning someone she once loved deeply, despite the pain he caused her.

Just days before Payne’s death, Henry had publicly spoken out about his alleged harassment on TikTok.

She told her followers: “Ever since we broke up he messages me, will blow up my phone, not only from his phone, it’s always from different phone numbers too, so I never know where it’s gonna come from.

“He’ll create new iCloud accounts to message me – it’s always a new damn iCloud account. Every time I see one pop up on my phone I’m like, ‘here we f***ing go again.’ Also, he will email me… not only me, but he’ll blow up my mom’s phone. Is this normal behaviour to you?”

The pair pictured together in 2019 (Dave Benett)

Lawyers for Henry told press at the time: “Maya Henry issued a cease and desist last week to Liam Payne following the emergence of new and concerning information.

“She has retained attorneys Marco Crawford and Daniel Cerna to represent her. At this time, that is her only comment on the matter.”

Henry temporarily stepped away from social media after Payne’s death, as she faced a wave of cruel trolls unfairly blaming her for his death.

The One Direction singer, 31, died from “polytrauma”, meaning multiple traumatic injuries, after he fell after he fell from a third-floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires aged 31 on October 16, a UK inquest opening heard last month.

In December, five individuals, including Payne’s friend Roger Nores, the hotel manager, and a receptionist, faced charges linked to the singer’s tragic death, according to Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office.

Additionally, hotel worker Ezequiel Pereyra and waiter Braian Paiz were charged with supplying cocaine.

Last month, it was reported that Payne’s father Geoff Payne was being sued for defamation by the late singer’s friend Roger Nores.