Liam Payne's ex-fiancée was flooded with hate after his death. Now she's sharing her truth.

As 23-year-old Maya Henry came to terms with the shocking news that her ex-fiancée died after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina on October 31, 2024, her phone notifications were pinging.

"You killed him."

"Now he is dead. Are you happy?"

"Look what you did."

"Was it worth it?"

Fans of One Direction star Liam Payne flooded the comment sections of the model and author's social media accounts, blaming her for his tragic death in Buenos Aires.

Liam and Henry hadn't been together since 2022, and at the time of his death Payne was dating influencer Kate Cassidy.

But before Payne's death, Henry was speaking out about their on-and-off again four-year relationship, and as recently as October 14, 2024, reportedly retained two lawyers and sent him a cease-and-desist letter after he allegedly repeatedly tried to contact her. In October, she told TikTok that Payne had been harassing her and her family.

"Ever since we broke up, he messages me, blows up my phone… always from different phone numbers. He'll create new iCloud accounts to message me, he'll also email me," she said.

"Not only me, he'll blow up my mum's phone. Is that normal behaviour to you?"

Now, she's started to open up, reflecting on her difficult relationship with the late star.

Maya Henry does NOT deserve this yall. Do you realise she has nothing to do with Liam Payne passing away? pic.twitter.com/AanXdQQDTG

— Adjusted55 (@BillPrinter00) October 16, 2024

What happened to Liam Payne?

Local newspapers La Nacion and Clarin reported that police were called to the CasaSur Palermo Hotel after responding to an emergency call that described "an aggressive man who could be under the effects of drugs and alcohol".

They found Payne's body in an internal courtyard, after a three-storey fall.

SAME (Emergency Medical Assistance System) director Alberto Crescenti said his team confirmed Payne's death seven minutes later.

"Unfortunately, he had injuries incompatible with life due to the fall, so we had to confirm the death. There was no possibility of resuscitation," Crescenti said.

What did Maya Henry say after Payne's passing?

Four months on since his passing, she's opened up about the turbulent relationship for the first time since his death, saying she loved Payne deeply but "he did things that hurt me in ways I'll never fully understand".

A source close to Henry told Rolling Stone Payne struggled with his mental health, alleged violent outbursts and substance abuse throughout their relationship.

Henry also provided a written statement, saying, "Initially, it was the drug use and addictions that tore us apart. Anyone who has been with an addict understands how difficult that is.

"On drugs, he became someone unrecognisable — 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. I tried to be there for him. I loved him so much that I convinced myself I could fix things.

Henry recalled putting herself in situations that were "unsafe and harmful" and "ignoring every red flag" along the way.

She said there were parts of his identity he was struggling with, but ultimately, "in the end, it wasn't just the betrayals or the addictions that broke us — it was the realisation that I had spent years in something that was never what I thought it was."

Watch a snippet of Henry's TikTok. Post continues after video.

How did Henry and Payne meet?

Henry and Payne first met at a One Direction meet-and-greet when she was 15-years-old, but they weren't romantically linked until 2018 when she was 18 and he was 26.

Payne proposed in 2020, but they split the next year. They later reconciled but split for good in May 2022, after he was accused of cheating (something he denied).

What did Maya Henry say before Payne's passing?

In May 2024, Henry released a fiction book inspired by her life called Looking Forward. The story follows protagonist Mallory Hunt as she is thrust into the world of high-fashion modelling and meets Oliver Smith, a member of boy band 5Forward.

In it, she describes physical and emotional abuse including Oliver chasing Mallory with an axe, hitting walls next to her head, shattering glass tables and sending dick pics to her family.

In one chapter, Oliver gives Mallory an ultimatum to get an abortion or "lose him" in the middle of a physical fight.

Henry told People of the abortion she had in real life, "If it were up to me, I wouldn't have had it".

Henry suffered complications from the procedure that saw her taking herself to the hospital alone and describes the experience as "lonely" and "physically and mentally draining".

She added about the end of their relationship, "There's other things I won't speak about that were too much for someone to deal with… I think at that point I'd grown so much that I was like, 'I don't deserve this.'

"It just got to the point where I just couldn't handle those types of things anymore. I feel like when you're disrespected so much, you're just done. You've had enough".

In the 2025 Rolling Stone story, a source close to Henry told the publication, "Liam sent Maya a long message saying it's either get an abortion and stay with him, or raise the kid alone, and he will not acknowledge either of them."

Liam Payne and Maya Henry in March 2022. Image: Getty/Michael Kovac. 

While a guest on The Internet Is Dead podcast, Henry said Payne's friends contacted her before the book release warning her against it because "he's not doing well".

"[He said] If something happens to him, not only will you blame yourself, the whole world will blame you," she recalled.

She also told the podcast that Payne would "play with death" in conversations with her.

"He would say 'I'm going to die, I'm not doing well'. There was one time I tried to get him help and then he was not taking it….

"He would text my mum saying 'I'm not doing well. Have Maya contact me' because I wouldn't respond. He called my mum saying, 'I'm not going to be around much longer'," she said.

Listen to The Spill episode on Liam Payne's Life, Death And Complicated Legacy. Story continues below.

On TikTok, Henry responded to the avalanche of criticism she'd received from Payne's fans for sharing her story, telling them, "You don't even know what's happened. I have a right to say whatever I feel… I am not lying".

"People write songs, what's the difference… you can express your feelings through song, I can express what I went through in a book. It's such a double standard," she added.

"It's disappointing that I wrote something of experiences I went through, not only to help other women feel less alone, but hopefully to give women the bravery to speak on these topics."

Liam Payne and Maya Henry in 2021. Image: Getty.

As news of Payne's death spread, a source close to Henry told Mail Online she was "in shock," and only learnt of his death when a reporter contacted a member of her team.

As a flood of hate comments were directed at Henry in the wake of Payne's death, there were dozens more coming to her defence.

"Anyone doing this is absolutely disgusting and should be ashamed of themselves. Maya Henry is completely valid for sharing her own personal experiences of emotional abuse with Liam and she is not responsible for his passing," wrote one commenter on X.

"We're not using this poor woman's experiences against her because he died," wrote another.

Despite what Henry went through with Payne, this is a man she once loved and agreed to marry. A man she has complex feelings towards. A man she says put her through great suffering.

Liam Payne's death is devastating. He was only 31, he has a young son, and he had his whole life ahead of him.

But coming after a woman who bravely spoke about her alleged abusive relationship with that same man, is also devastating.

This is not Maya Henry's fault.

This article was published in October 2024 and has been updated.

Feature image: Getty.