"He would always play with death and be like 'Well, I'm gonna die'"— Maya Henry claimed Liam Payne would use death as a 'manipulation tactic'

Singer Liam Payne’s ex-girlfriend Maya Henry's recent statements on his behavior and their relationship have gone viral in the wake of his death. On the October 14 podcast episode of The Internet Is Dead, Maya Henry, who dated Liam Payne between 2018 and 2022, claimed:

“He would always message me ever since we broke up [saying], ‘Oh, I’m not well. He would always play with death and be like, ‘Well, I’m going to die. I’m not doing well.’”

The 23-year-old described the singer’s behavior as a “manipulation tactic” to make her feel bad for him as they were not in a relationship at that time.

Liam Payne, 31, died in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on October 16 after falling from a CasaSur Palermo Hotel balcony. An autopsy is yet to be conducted. Local police revealed that the singer was likely under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of his death.

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“It’s just always the same cycle”— Maya Henry’s podcast interview goes viral in wake of Liam Payne’s death

Maya Henry shared on the podcast that she had offered the singer "help,” but he refused to take it. He also reportedly contacted her mother and pleaded with her to have Maya call him as he was “not doing well.”

“It’s just always the same cycle,” Maya said.

Earlier this year, Payne reportedly called Henry’s mother and told her he was “not going to be around much longer.”

“I don’t play with death. If you say this, I’m going to try and help you no matter what you’ve done. I think he took advantage of my family’s kindness,” Henry said.

She also claimed that Payne’s friends asked her not to write her released fictional book, Moving Forward, which was inspired by her relationship with the singer, as it would take a toll on the musician’s mental health.

“He would always just say, ‘I’m so sorry for everything I’ve done. I can’t live with myself,’ but then is continuing to try and traumatize me,” Maya Henry said.

Maya Henry had also taken to TikTok to allege that Liam Payne was stalking her. She said in one of her videos:

“Ever since we broke up, he messages me, blows up my phone… always different phone numbers. He’ll create new iCloud accounts to message me. He’s always the one that is constantly doing weird s**t.”

Before his death, Henry had issued a cease-and-desist against the singer in hopes of having him allegedly stop messaging her family and friends.

Payne had been open about his alcohol and prescription drug addiction in 2021. According to Page Six, he said in a podcast that he had hit his “rock bottom,” as he experienced “suicidal ideation” while touring with his band. Following his death, an insider exclusively shared with the news outlet:

“Liam had been cycling through periods of ruinous behavior for a long time. He was open about his struggles but tried to downplay them at times. His demons were much worse than he let on.”

Liam Payne is survived by his seven-year-old son Bear, whom he shares with his ex-girlfriend and Girls Aloud singer Cheryl.