From One Direction Star to Struggling Soloist: The Timeline of Liam Payne's Life

One of the five members of the British boy band, One Direction, has sadly passed away far too soon. Liam Payne died this week at the age of 31 after falling from his hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The singer's death has come as a shockwave to the world and to his millions of adoring fans, along with his family and his former bandmates. Payne leaves behind a 7-year old son, his parents, and his two siblings.

While it is easy to focus on tragedy and mourn, it's also important to remember the good things when someone leaves us far too soon. Unfortunately with Liam Payne, it seems as if there was far more sadness and tragedy since his time on The X Factor and in a boy band. Let's take a look at Payne's life from start to finish.

Born in 1993 as a premature, sick baby

Payne was born in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England to parents Karen and Geoff. Payne was born three weeks premature and was riddled with kidney issues - an issue that stuck with him into adulthood. As he grew, he became an athletic child and took up track & field. In fact, he was a top three 1500m runner prior to his singing career.

Two failed solo attempts at 'The X Factor'

Payne first auditioned for the British reality competition, The X Factor, in 2008 as a 14-year old. He sang Frank Sinatra's "Fly Me to the Moon" to judges Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole, and Louis Walsh and was selected to move forward. Unfortunately, Payne fizzled out at the judges house segments in Barbados and was eliminated from competition. He recalled prior to returning home to England that Simon told him he needed to complete his education prior to returning to the competition.

Payne returned to The X Factor in 2010 as a 16-year old where he received a standing ovation after performing Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me a River." Despite his aura and obvious talent, the judges weren't convinced that he could cut it as a soloist - a sentiment they also felt about four other teenage competitors.

The forming of One Direction

While on The X Factor, Payne was competing along side four other teenage boys - Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinson. In a behind the scenes clip, judge Nicole Scherzinger formed the band (later to be known as One Direction) after stating she believed they would shine together as a group. Payne later revealed that they'd all been eliminated from the competition as soloists and were ready to get on their trains home, but they were called back to the show by producers when the idea of forming a group was revealed.

Exploding onto the scene as "Daddy Direction"

Shortly after One Direction was official, Payne was dubbed "Daddy Direction" for his obvious sense of maturity and leadership. His bandmate Louis explained that Payne was always there to have more serious conversations rather than playful banter.

The band's fame was practically instant as they continued competing on The X Factor as a group, but ultimately they lost the competition. The band came in third place behind Rebecca Ferguson and Matt Cardle, but losing the competition was just the beginning for these five young men.

One Direction releases their first single

In August 2011, One Direction released their first single, "What Makes You Beautiful." The single debuted at #1 on the UK Singles Chart and stayed in that spot for 78 straight weeks. The band even crossed the pond and ultimately reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Similar to American boy bands, the fame that surrounded Payne and his bandmates was intense - complete with being followed in cars, having fans sleep outside of hotels, finding their families, and all of the things that come with teenage obsession. What made this more intense is One Direction was the first boy band that was fully accessible by the internet.

Early struggles with substance abuse and loneliness

With this intense fame also came intense loneliness. Payne revealed on numerous occasions that to "keep them out of trouble," their handlers would keep them in their hotel rooms and wouldn't allow them to explore much or interact with others. Payne was not shy about elaborating on this "lock and key" upbringing and had said that this environment was a breeding ground for alcohol abuse. On the Diary of a CEO podcast in 2021, Payne stated "when we were in the band, the best way to secure us because of how big it got was to just lock us in our rooms. And, of course, that's in the room... minibar."

As time went on, Payne realized he had developed a problem and looked back at just how many "party for one" situations he had endured. At this point of the band's fame, the now young men were rarely seeing their families, as well. In 2013, the band's documentary film One Direction: This Is Us, fans saw that Payne's mother had purchased a cardboard cutout of him so she could have him home.

This struggle wasn't exclusive to Payne, as other members of the band have revealed their own struggles as time has gone on. The band was even criticized in 2014 for being photographed with what appeared to be a marijuana cigarette. As the unofficial leader of the band, Payne released the statement:

"I love my boys and maybe things have gone a little sideways. I apologize for that. We are only in our 20s, we all do stupid things at this age. We all have a lot of growing up to do and in an extreme circumstance. I'm not making excuses, but it's fact that we are going to fall short somewhere."

One Direction unexpectedly goes on an indefinite hiatus

In March 2015, while the band was still explosively famous, Zayn Malik made the decision to leave the group to pursue a solo career. The remaining members released a four-piece album, Made in the A.M., but it wasn't enough to keep the momentum going and the band went on hiatus in December.

The breakup of the band significantly affected Payne and his well being declined from then on. In 2018, he told KISS FM that he struggled with the idea of being famous as a soloist and that it "nearly killed him."

Falling for his former reality show judge

When One Direction performed for the last time in 2015, it was during a finale of The X Factor where he was reunited with Cheryl Cole - a British star who judged him as a 14-year old. At the time, Cole's marriage was heading toward splitsville and there were rumors surrounding her and Payne as early as February 2016. Their relationship was confirmed in March when they appeared together at the Global Gift Gala in Paris, France. At the time, Payne was 22 and Cole was 32.

In March 2017, the couple welcomed a son together named Bear. Following the birth of their child, the couple only stayed together for just over a year and Payne blamed parenting as the reason for the couple's downfall. Payne stated "you don't know what is coming and it's different. To be honest with you, it ruined a relationship for me at that point but for all the right reasons." Despite this commentary, Payne complimented Cole's parenting skills and stated she was a great mother and praised her for taking care of their son so he could have full autonomy.

Trying to have a solo career with addiction

Payne launched his solo career in 2021, quite some time after his bandmates launched fairly successful solo ventures. His first single, "Strip That Down" was followed by an album titled LP1. The dingle was successful enough, reaching #3 on the UK Singles Chart and #10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was also certified platinum in both the United Kingdom and United States.

However, LP1 didn't receive the same love as the single. Music journalists and fans critiqued the album for offering "rowdy" and immature lyrics, as well as subpar song progression. The album as a whole received a number of 1-star reviews from critics.

While promoting the album, Payne was open about his struggles with addiction and stated that he'd been struggling since the early days of One Direction. In July 2023, Payne shared that he had spent time in a Louisiana rehab facility and was 100 days sober. He even referenced his One Direction bandmate, Louis Tomlinson, on Instagram for supporting him in his sobriety journey and assisting him with getting the help he needed.

Butting heads with former bandmate, Zayn Malik

Despite leaving One Direction in 2015 and claiming they stayed in contact, it seemed as though Payne harbored some animosity towards him. While appearing on Logan Paul's podcast in 2022, Payne revealed that he'd stayed in contact over the years with Malik but also had a lot of reasons to "dislike" his former bandmate.

Prior to this, it was always the understanding of fans and the media that Payne and Malik were the closest members of the band, and that they'd remained good friends - even into 2016 when Malik stated he was still the closest with Payne. However, when Malik left the band to be a "normal 22-year old" it was later revealed that he left because he'd been offered a solo contract from RCA Records. While speaking on the issue, Payne stated that Malik "never said goodbye" and slammed him for being a good singer, but not a performer.

Payne also elaborated about the allegations against Malik from his ex-girlfriend, Gigi Hadid, where he stated "there's many reasons why I dislike Zayn." He immediately tried to cover up saying that he was also empathetic because of Malik's family upbringing, but the damage was done. Payne's comments got him into hot water both with fans and Malik, suspecting that he secretly harbored animosity towards Malik for breaking up the band.

Relationship woe after woe

Following his relationship with Cole that ended in 2018, Payne has had just two publicly serious relationships. He dated model and author Maya Henry on and off until 2022, even becoming engaged in 2020. The couple officially split after Henry accused him on cheating. She also had accused Payne of harassment, stating he had to taken extreme measures to contact her after their split. She revealed this information in a TikTok video in October 2024, just weeks before Payne's death, and revealed she'd even hired lawyers to issue a cease and desist letter to him to try and prevent further contact.

At the time of his death, Payne was dating 25-year old model and influencer Kate Cassidy. The couple had been dating since his split with Henry in 2022. Cassidy was staying with Payne at the Argentinian hotel where he passed away, leaving just two days before the tragedy.

Untimely death and relapse

Payne's sobriety quickly came into question after the allegations from his ex-fiancé, Maya Henry, came into the public. He was last seen attending the concert of another One Direction bandmate, Niall Horan, in Argentina on October 2, 2024. He was seen notably dancing it up and playing to arena cameras at the show, with many wondering if he was having a sober good time or an influenced good time. Payne continued his stay in Argentina for two more weeks, where he had multiple incidents at his hotel before falling to his death from a balcony on October 17, 2024.

It has since come out that Payne's US Visa was "blocked" due to concerns of drug abuse, which could indicate why his Argentina stay was extended and why Kate Cassidy left for the United States without him. There has also been confirmation of him attempting to attack hotel staff while destroying his personal property and trashing his hotel room prior to his death. He had also passed out in the hotel's lobby and was carried back to his room by hotel staff, just before falling from his balcony.

Fond memories from his One Direction bandmates and fans

Since Payne's death, all four members of One Direction publicly released statements on social media to share their devastation surrounding the loss. The band's official Instagram even posted a statement from the four members, which serves as the first post since July 2020.

Horan elaborated on how grateful he was that he was able to see Payne one last time. He also expressed the grief surrounded with the reality of their Argentinian goodbye being the final goodbye.

"I feel so fortunate that I got to see him recently. I sadly didn't know that after saying goodbye and hugging him that evening, I would be saying goodbye forever. It's heartbreaking."

Malik released a statement and revealed he'd been "talking out loud" to Payne and hoped he could hear him. His statement came across from a point of guilt, stating that he never got a chance to fully thank Payne for continuing to support him as he endured difficult times and launched into further stardom. Malik also made the decision to postpone his US tour dates until 2025 so he could take the time to grieve.

Styles released the following statement to honor his bandmate, stating he felt privileged to have known and worked with Payne.

Perhaps the strongest band statement came from Tomlinson, who seemed to have stayed in the closest contact with Payne following the band's split. Tomlinson shared that he is "truly devastated" and referred to Payne several times as a brother to him.

"A message to Liam if you're listening,

I feel beyond lucky to have had you in my life and I'm struggling with the idea of saying goodbye. I'm so grateful that we got even closer since the band, speaking on the phone for hours, reminiscing about the thousands of amazing memories we had together is a luxury I thought I'd have with you for life. I would have loved to share the stage with you again, but it wasn't to be.

I want you to know that if Bear ever needs me I will be the Uncle he needs in his life and tell him stories of how amazing his dad was."

One Direction fans all around the world are also heartbroken and have taken to the internet to share their memories and grief surrounding the loss of Liam Payne. They also have partnered their memories with with the sad realization that the first time the band will reunite since 2015 will be for Payne's funeral.

Rest in peace, Liam.

What are your favorite memories of Liam Payne and One Direction? Let us know in the comments!