Maya Henry, the ex-fiancé of former One Direction member Liam Payne — who died on Wednesday at the age of 31 after apparently jumping from a third story balcony — released a book on Wednesday that reportedly included a fictionalized account detailing her “painful” experience with abortion, which she says she was coerced into having. Meanwhile, sources say Payne was “extremely overwhelmed” by legal issues involving Henry before his untimely death.
While Henry’s novel, “Looking Forward,” is billed as a fiction, the author told People that the book was “inspired by true events” that transpired in her life.
One scene in the book reportedly shows the main character, Mallory, enduring “a painful abortion after her partner warns her he will walk away from the relationship if she chooses to keep their baby,” the magazine reported.
In “Looking Forward,” Mallory is encouraged by her partner’s team to forgo treatment for hemorrhaging due to fear of the public finding out about the abortion. Henry told People that her real-life experience is “very similar” to that of the main character in her novel.
“If it were up to me, I wouldn’t have done it,” she told the magazine of her abortion. “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.”
Henry added that she suffered complications during her abortion, and ended up taking herself to the hospital.
“It was very lonely,” she said. “Having these men tell you, ‘Oh, it’s going to feel like a heavy period, it’s not going to be that painful, it’s going to be easy.’ But I’m like, you’ve never even gone through anything like [this], so how would you know to tell me?”
“That’s why I wanted to include it in the book, because I’ve seen so many people online talk about taking the abortion pill and it was the most painful thing for them,” Henry added. “It’s just mind boggling to me that you could tell a woman how they’re going to feel.”
Payne and Henry were engaged in August 2020, but broke it off the following year. The two later rekindled their relationship, but ended it for good in April 2022.
Meanwhile, a source told People that Payne “was extremely overwhelmed by all of the legal issues” involving Henry.
It remains unclear what these legal issues entail.
For her part, Henry issued a cease-and-desist order to Payne last week, claiming the singer was repeatedly contacting her, according to a report by the Daily Mail.
In a video posted to TikTok on October 6, tens days before Payne’s death, Henry claimed that her ex continued to “blow up” her phone.
“Ever since we broke up, he messages me — blows up my phone — not only from his phone number, it’s always from different phone numbers, so I never know where it’s going to come from,” she said.
Watch Below:
@mayahenry Replying to @marie anways sorry for the rant but things need to be addressed
♬ original sound – Maya Henry
“Not only me, but he’ll blow up my mom’s phone,” Henry continued, adding that her ex was also contacting her friends.
While Henry did not reveal the name of the ex she was talking about in her video, she associated him with “One Direction fans” who she claimed “will always be loyal to him.”
On Wednesday night, Pablo Policicchio, the communications director for the Buenos Aires Security Ministry, told Associated Press that Payne “had jumped from the balcony of his room.” Policicchio added that police rushed to the CasaSur Palermo Hotel after receiving an emergency call warning of an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol,” just after 5:00 p.m. in Buenos Aires.
Payne — who was in Argentina to attend his former One Direction bandmate Niall Horan’s concert — was seen acting erratically in the hotel lobby and smashing his laptop, and had to be carried back to his room, according to a report by TMZ.
In June 2021, the former One Direction singer revealed that he had struggled with alcohol and prescription drug additions while on tour with the pop group, and at one point had “severe” suicidal thoughts, the outlet reported.
TMZ published a photo of Payne’s body after his fatal jump, but deleted it after facing heavy backlash from the public.
In July of last year, Payne told his fans he had been sober for six months after spending nearly 100 days at a rehab facility, and that he planned to go back on tour soon, without being on the influence of substances, saying, “I definitely don’t need those things anymore — the party’s over.”
“I’m actually going back on stage sooner than you think,” the former One Direction member — who also had a career as a solo artist — said at the time. “I would have never thought this time last year I’d be saying that, but it’s quite amazing, really.”
“Am I scared? Yes, a little bit,” the singer added, noting that this would be the first time he’d perform “in this frame of mind” without “having anything to lean on.”
“It does sound quite daunting,” Payne said, adding, “But I’m sure I’ll be fine — those famous last words.”
Argentina’s Todo Noticias TV channel was first to report Payne’s death, which occurred shortly after 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday in Buenos Aires.
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.