Liam Payne is opening up more than ever about his experience with addiction and mental health issues.
While on Steven Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO podcast, the former One Direction member admitted that he hit ‘rock bottom’ during his 1D days. The star shared that he would often turn to drugs and alcohol.
He was honest saying, “I didn’t like myself very much” while he was in One Direction. He revealed that much of his time was filled with “pills and booze” and “moments of suicidal ideation.”
Liam Payne says “There is some stuff that I’ve definitely never spoken about…It was really, really, really severe. It was a problem.”
The 27-year old attributes a lot of his substance abuse to the pressures of fame and power that he experienced while being in the boy band. He was only 16-years-old when he joined One Direction during the British version of The X Factor. More than a decade later, the band went on to sell more than 70 million records and surely became the most popular boy band of their time. One Direction broke up in 2015.
“The day the band ended, I was like, ‘Thank the Lord,'” The singer said. “I know a lot of people are going to be mad at me for saying that, but I needed to stop or it would kill me.”
The “Strip That Down” singer went on to share that his alcohol abuse intensified while he toured the world.
“In the band… the best way to secure us, because of how big we’d got, was just to lock us in our rooms. What’s in the room? A mini-bar,” he said. “So at a certain point I thought, I’m just going to have a party-for-one and that seemed to carry on for many years of my life. Then you look back at how long you’ve been drinking and you’re like, ‘Jesus Christ, that’s a long time.’
The singer, who shares a child with Cheryl Cole, continued to struggle with alcohol while being in quarantine due to the pandemic. Not working and being inside was lonely and “the worst thing in the world for me,” he said. He also mentioned that he was “eating badly” and gained a lot of weight during this time.
On the podcast, Liam confirmed that he ended his engagement with model Maya Henry, but he is turning his life around. Embarrassed by his appearance, has been working out and has been sober for a month.
Payne shared that one of his old 1D buds is showing him great support! “I had a lovely phone call from Harry the other day,” says Payne. “He was checking in on me. It’s almost as if some people have got a sixth sense about when you’re going through something and want to check-in. He’s very much like that. He’s a lovely, lovely boy…I love him to pieces,” he adds.
We’re happy that Liam is sharing his journey and getting back on his feet! Let us know how you feel about this news by leaving a reaction below!
