It’s no shocker that Liam Payne and his ex-fiancee Maya Henry were not on good terms before his untimely death in Argentina on Wednesday. Although the One Direction alum’s ex has yet to directly comment on his tragic passing, a source close to the influencer revealed to the DailyMail that she is “obviously in shock” over his death following an unexpected fall from the third floor of a hotel room in Buenos Aires.
In the weeks leading up to Payne’s death, he was embroiled in a legal spat with the model. Per The Sun’s Monday report, a spokesperson for Henry, 23, told the outlet that she had issued him a cease and desist letter last week “following the emergence of new and concerning information.”
The rep added, “She has retained attorneys Marco Crawford and Daniel Cerna to represent her. At this time, that is her only comment on the matter.”
Liam Payne and ex-fiancee Maya Henry’s topsy-turvy legal entanglement
Henry and Payne went their separate ways in 2022, two years after the One Direction breakout star proposed to her. Their engagement ended after the model levelled infidelity accusations against the 31-year-old music star.
In the aftermath of his death on October 16, a source with close knowledge of Payne’s struggles admitted to PEOPLE that he “was overwhelmed by all of the legal issues.” Henry’s legal action against her ex was a reported response to Payne allegedly contacting her non-stop.
On October 6, the Texas-based model detailed how Payne’s constant messages were troubling her. “Ever since we broke up, he messages me, will blow up my phone,” she began. “Each time I see a new one pop up on my phone I’m like, ‘Oh here we go again,’” she alleged that he would resort to switching phone numbers and other accounts to reach out to her. Calling out her former partner’s alleged behaviour, she added that the 1D star even “blew up” his mother’s phone.
Maya Henry’s book is supposedly based on her relationship with Liam Payne
Henry’s remarks came months after she released her novel called ‘Looking Forward’ in May, which she claims to be “inspired by true events” despite being a work of fiction. The former model’s book offered her a safe space to open up about her traumatic experience with abortion. “If it were up to me, I wouldn’t have done it,” she told PEOPLE of her abortion. “But then also, if I were to have made a different decision, then I would’ve lost the person that I loved. There were definitely difficult conversations about it. But looking back now, things happen for a reason.”
Maya Henry penned ‘Looking Forward’ during the COVID-19 pandemic in the midst of her relationship with Liam Payne as they first confirmed their romance in 2019 after the “Get Low” crooner called it quits with Cheryl Cole. Coincidentally, Payne, in a previous podcast interview, briefly detailed how the pandemic period was excruciating for him owing to his troubled history with mental health and alcoholism, also attributed to his teenage One Direction years. Henry’s book presents readers with the character of Oliver, a charming boy band member, much like Payne.
Seemingly based on him, this book character excessively relied on substances, resulting in his enraged self punching a hole in a wall. Her book also rolls out a disturbing scene which sees Oliver giving Mallory an ultimatum about getting an abortion. Carefully articulating her dialogue at the time when asked if these characters’ relationship documented her experience with Payne, she said, “I drew inspiration [from my real life], and I wanted to include a scene like that in the book because while not everyone dates a pop star, I feel like everyone dates someone like Oliver.”
She continued, “I feel like it was just important for women to be seen in that way, and can relate and not feel like they’re alone in whatever they’re going through.”
When the former couple went public with their relationship in 2019, Liam Payne was 26, and Maya Henry was 18. During a recent podcast interview, the former model also discussed how some of Payne’s friends pushed back on the idea of her releasing ‘Looking Forward’ since the singer wasn’t “doing well.”
“If something happens to him, not only are you gonna blame yourself, but the whole world’s gonna blame you,” Henry quoted the friend’s message.
Per previous reports, Henry also exposed him as “toxic,” saying that he would often spew sexist remarks. Speaking of his relationship with Katie Cassidy, Maya added that she knew “firsthand the kind of toxic environment she’s living in currently.”