Liam Payne‘s ex-fiancee Maya Henry is opening up about their time together while discussing the release of a troubling novel inspired by her real life.
If you were unaware, the couple announced that they were in item in late 2019. At the time, Maya was 18, and Liam was 26.
They revealed that they were engaged in August 2020. However, Liam and Maya split up for good in May 2022.
Earlier this year, Maya announced plans to release a novel called Looking Forward, which is seemingly inspired by her relationship. In it, a character named Mallory (a young model like Maya) falls for a pop star named Oliver, similar to the One Direction singer.
While dating Oliver, Mallory deals with abuse, violence, abortion and more.
In a new interview, Maya reflected on how her relationship inspired the novel. In the process, she shed light on dating Liam, where they stand now, their age gap, an abortion that she underwent and so much more.
Keep reading to find out more…
“Obviously the book is fiction,” Maya told People. However, she stressed that it was “definitely inspired by true events.”
“Mallory is very similar to me, and that’s why it was very easy for me to write her character and put the emotion in there. I’m just grateful that I have this opportunity and platform to really help be a voice for women,” she told the outlet.
Notably, Maya did not accuse Liam of being abusive in their relationship. However, she alluded to other problems.
In the book, Mallory is urged to terminate a pregnancy and threatened with a breakup.
While Maya stopped short of confirming that she was with Liam when she underwent an abortion, she did confirm that she was in a similar situation with a partner.
“If it were up to me, I wouldn’t have done it. But then also, if I were to have made a different decision, then I would’ve lost the person that I loved. There were definitely difficult conversations about it. But looking back now, things happen for a reason,” she said.
Maya also spoke about a scene where Oliver “shatters a light fixture, sending shards of glass into Mallory’s arm.”
“I drew inspiration [from my real life], and I wanted to include a scene like that in the book because while not everyone dates a pop star, I feel like everyone dates someone like Oliver,” she said, again stopping short of confirming that she was talking about dating Liam. “I feel like it was just important for women to be seen in that way, and can relate and not feel like they’re alone in whatever they’re going through.”
About Liam, Maya recalled him being “very charming and sweet and nice” when they first met. She said that people told her that their relationship was “like a fairytale” or “a movie.”
Looking back, she mentions their age gap while discussing if she was ready for the relationship.
“I was very mature for my age and could live on my own, but I think I was very naïve in relationships because I hadn’t been in a real adult relationship,” she reflected. “And then to be engaged in your first real adult relationship was a lot. I don’t know if it was a power imbalance, [but] I feel like maybe my love was taken advantage of in a way.”
Acknowledging that their relationship had problems, Maya said that she “definitely chose to forgive a lot of things.”
“When you love someone so much, you have those rose-colored glasses. You’re in denial, so you think those things will stop, and they don’t, and that just becomes an issue among other issues,” she added.
She said that she “became so desensitized to everything going on” in the relationship until she exited it.
As to what ended her relationship, she did not confirm specifics.
“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,” she said.
Maya said that Liam “regularly reaches out” still. He is currently dating Kate Cassidy. They were last photographed together in March 2024.
“When you see these types of relationships, it’s very easy to think a certain way about them. But you never know what goes on behind closed doors,” Maya said. “It’s definitely nerve-wracking and scary, but we need to have difficult conversations about these topics to help women not feel alone and to speak up about things. That’s ultimately why I wanted to put this book out there.”
If you missed it, earlier this year Liam launched a new musical era.
Looking Forward was released on May 14.
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