Liam Payne has bravely spoken out about the struggles he had with his mental health while he was a member of boyband One Direction. Speaking to The Sun, Liam discussed how he failed to deal with the issues until it came to a breaking point leading him to cancel a show in Belfast, Northern Ireland back in 2015.
He said:
“I shouldn’t have been able to do as many shows as we did, if I’m honest about it, if I’m brutally honest about it. Going out and putting that happy smile on my face and singing the songs, honestly, sometimes it was like putting on one of those costumes, going out there and, underneath the costume, people don’t really see what’s going on.”
Liam revealed how his split from ex-girlfriend Sophia Smith affected him and lead to the cancellation of a show, saying, “I let it get to me that day. I wasn’t in a good place. And unfortunately I was going through a rough time and I let it get to me a little bit too much. That was it totally different person now to how I used to be about it.”
And though fans were definitely sad about the break 1D has taken indefinitely, Liam classes it as the best thing for the guys and something that they all really needed:
“Even though I know fans are not mad about [One Direction’s hiatus]… we needed it. We needed a little bit of time away from each other. We needed a realisation point to find the love for it again, rather than it just becoming a job.”
We’re so proud of Liam for openly discussing his mental health struggles and leading the way for others to open up about their own experiences so they can get any of the help they need. ❤️