Liam Payne Told Ex ‘I’m Going to Die,’ Warned of Premature Death

Liam Payne’s former fiancée Maya Henry alleged that the musician told her he wasn’t “going to be around much longer” in the months leading up to his death.

Payne, 31, died on Wednesday after falling from the third floor into the internal courtyard of the CasaSur hotel, located in the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina, resulting in “extremely serious injuries.” According to local authorities, medics confirmed his death on the spot.

Argentine media reported that Payne was in Buenos Aires to attend a concert by his former One Direction bandmate Niall Horan. It was reported by TMZ that Payne and his girlfriend Kate Cassidy arrived in Argentina on September 30. Cassidy is said to have returned to the U.S. on October 14.

In a 911 call moments before Payne’s death, one of the hotel’s senior staff reported that a man was behaving aggressively and may have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Personnel from the 14B Police Station subsequently went to the hotel, along with a team from the Emergency Medical Attention System, who found Payne’s body in the courtyard. Pablo Policicchio, a spokesperson for the Security Ministry of Buenos Aires municipality, told The Associated Press in a statement that Payne “had thrown himself from the balcony of his room.”

Two days before Payne’s untimely death, Henry’s appearance on podcast The Internet Is Dead went live on YouTube, where she spoke about what she described as a “toxic” and abusive relationship.

The model, author, and influencer—who was engaged to Payne from 2020 until 2022—had last week issued a cease and desist letter to the singer after accusing him of persistently contacting her through different iCloud accounts.

During her appearance on The Internet Is Dead, Henry, 23, spoke about Payne’s purported communications with her, saying: “He would always play with death and be like, ‘Well, 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,” she added of her ex days before his death. “He would text my mom: ‘I’m not doing well, have Maya contact me,’ because I wouldn’t respond.”

Newsweek has contacted a representative of Maya Henry for comment.

In May, Henry released the fictional book Looking Forward, which told the story of a woman who embarks on a relationship with a boy band member. The relationship becomes a toxic experience. Around the time of the book’s release, Henry told People that it was “definitely inspired by true events.”

Speaking on The Internet Is Dead in an interview released on Monday, Henry said that when she announced the book, Payne spoke about his life ending.

“He called my mom [and said], ‘I think I’m not gonna be around much longer,'” Henry recalled. “I don’t play with that…If you say this, I’m going to try and help you no matter what you’ve done. And I think he took advantage of my family’s kindness.

“I was like, ‘If you want to go back to rehab, I’ll help you,’ even though you know, whatever. Not that I ever wanted to be back with him, but he’s still somebody’s child. He’s somebody’s brother. Like, if that were my brother, I would want someone to help him, too, but…in the end, I felt like it was manipulation.”

Addressing Payne’s reaction to the issues in their relationship, Henry said: “He would always just say, ‘I’m so sorry for everything I’ve done. I can’t live with myself.'”

She added: “Even until my book was coming out…one of his friends was calling me and my mom being like, ‘Oh, you know, this isn’t a good time for him. I don’t think you should put the book out. He’s not doing well, and if something happens to him, not only are you going to blame yourself but the whole world is going to blame you…It’s such a low f****** manipulation tactic.”

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text “988” to the Crisis Text Line at 741 741 or go to 988lifeline.org.