Liam Payne’s ex-fiancée, Maya Henry, is opening up about how his drug addiction affected their relationship while breaking her silence four months after the singer’s death at age 31.

“This was someone I loved very much,” the influencer, 25, told Rolling Stone in a statement on Tuesday, February 11. “Initially, it was the drug use and addictions that tore us apart. Anyone who has been with an addict understands how difficult that is. While I loved him deeply, he did things that hurt me in ways I’ll never fully understand, and he continued to hurt me years after we broke up.”

Maya added that the former One Direction band member became “someone unrecognizable” on drugs and was “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,” she continued.

Maya said that she often placed herself in “situations that were unsafe and harmful” because she was “ignoring every red flag.”

“I knew there were parts of himself he was struggling with — parts of his identity he wasn’t ready to fully face, even within our relationship,” she concluded. “In the end, it wasn’t just the betrayals or the addictions that broke us — it was the realization that I had spent years in something that was never what I thought it was. I don’t fault him for his struggles.”

The American Instagram model’s statement came in response to sources claiming to Rolling Stone that Liam “struggled with his sexuality.” An insider said that Maya allegedly found out the “Strip That Down” singer had been sending messages to other men when he “accidentally broadcast … them to their TV.”

The outlet’s cover story also included sources claiming that Liam allegedly pushed Maya down a flight of stairs and chased her with an ax. Additionally, insiders claimed the X Factor alum allegedly forced the influencer to get an abortion.

“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,” an insider said. “This was a surprise to Maya, because Liam wanted to have a family, and they were trying for a kid.”

Maya allegedly agreed to terminate the pregnancy, according to the source.

Liam died in October 2024 after falling from a balcony on the third floor of the CasaSur Palermo hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His cause of death was determined to be multiple serious injuries, including a fractured skull, In Touch confirmed at the time. An autopsy later revealed that Liam had traces of cocaine, benzodiazepine and crack in his system, as well as “pink cocaine,” a mix of methamphetamine, ketamine and MDMA.

Five people have been charged in connection with Liam’s death, including hotel manager Gilda Martin, receptionist Esteban Grassi, Liam’s friend Rogelio “Roger” Nores, hotel employee Ezequiel Pereyra and hotel waiter Braian Nahuel Paiz. Both Nores and Paiz have denied their involvement in his death.

Maya and Liam first confirmed their romance in 2019 and got engaged in 2020. They had an on-again, off-again romance, splitting in June 2021 before reconciling and calling it quits for good in May 2022.

Maya released her fictional novel, Looking Forward, which is inspired by “true events,” in May 2024, and many fans believed that it was inspired by her tumultuous relationship with Liam.

“Some of the things that fictionalized the book were, obviously the name changes, some of the cities are different,” Maya said on the “Internet Is Dead” podcast in October 2024. “Some of the timelines are a bit skewed. People were like, ‘This can’t be about Liam,’ because when I was talking about the abortion, he said, ‘Oh, I’m not ready for a kid,’ and in real life that’s obviously not the case. For privacy reasons, I just wanted to leave stuff like that out of my book.”

Shortly before Liam’s death, Maya reportedly filed a cease and desist letter to the singer and accused him of repeatedly contacting her.

“Maya Henry issued a cease and desist last week to Liam Payne following the emergence of new and concerning information,” her lawyers told the Daily Mail at the time. “She has retained attorneys Marco Crawford and Daniel Cerna to represent her. At this time, that is her only comment on the matter.”

Maya later took to her TikTok to lament about Liam’s alleged contact with her.

“Ever since we broke up he messages me, will blow up my phone, not only from his phone, it’s always from different phone numbers too, so I never know where it’s gonna come from,” the influencer alleged. “He’ll create new iCloud accounts to message me — it’s always a new damn iCloud account. Every time I see one pop up on my phone I’m like, ‘Here we f–king go again.’”

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).