'Liam Payne's mum sobbed he "became the boy in the magazine" - his fame came with a hefty price'

set out early on his path to fame, appearing on The as a fresh-faced and floppy-haired 14-year-old, charming judges who included the future mother of his child, Cheryl Tweedy.

Performing Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me to the Moon, he struck the former Girls Aloud star as “cute”. And while Liam’s first effort ended in tears, flown to Barbados only to be sent packing by , he would be back.

Two years later, Liam was chosen as the leader of a cobbled-together boy band who would go on to become the talent show’s biggest hit by some distance – .

Aged just 16, he left mum Karen, dad Geoff and his two sisters in Wolverhampton to move into a London mansion with his new bandmates. There was no time for looking back.

Thanks to the growing role of social media, One Direction were already huge before anyone had even seen them perform.

Liam had 30,000 followers before the group’s debut on the X Factor live shows, watched by 14 million viewers.

Their debut album Up All Night topped charts in 16 countries in 2011 and made them the first British act to hit No1 in the US Billboard chart at the first attempt – something not even the Beatles had managed.

By the time they played New York’s Madison Square Gardens in December 2012, performing hits such as Live While We’re Young and What Makes You Beautiful to 20,000 fans, Liam and the boys were global superstars.

On the tour film, released the following year, mum Karen, a nurse, appeared with a lifesize cardboard cut-out of her 19-year-old son. “If I have this, I can still see him every day,” she said.

Liam’s parents were not the first to find out fame at a tender age can have a high price.

“He left home my little boy and became the boy in a magazine,” Karen sobbed.

“When I see him on stage, I absolutely burst with pride but we do miss him so much.”

Geoff, a fitter, teared up as he told of missing Liam’s “rites of passage”, saying: “He’s the only lad in the family and I’ll never get this time back. He’s gone.”

Back in Wolverhampton, Liam had spent his time in school dreaming about singing, and first held a microphone aged six.

But as the dream came true and One Direction embarked on a sell-out tour in 2013, problems were emerging.

Such was their fame, the five lads needed round-the-clock bodyguards. At one point, President Barack Obama’s security team was hired.

This could be isolating, and offered little respite for the beleaguered singers, who were still only just into their 20s.

Liam would later recall: “The best way to secure us, because of how big it got, was to lock us in our rooms, and of course what’s in the room? Minibar.”

And fame in the age of social media had even darker drawbacks.

Those thrust into the limelight on modern reality series receive training on social media as part of ramped-up welfare provisions.

But back in 2010, the concept of online safety was in its infancy, and the impact it would have on young stars was unknown – as was the idea of trolling.

Early on, Liam had to speak out against the “abuse” targeted at his girlfriend Danielle Peazer, a dancer on The X Factor – at one point, jealous followers even sent death threats to the couple’s puppy, Loki.

While accepting of fans begging for selfies, some interactions with the public were depressingly dehumanising.

When one girl shared a photo with Liam, boasting she was “not a fan, just want fame,” he snapped back at her: “Best of luck with that attitude – do your family proud.”

Social media was also where Liam drew the most criticism.

After One Direction split in 2016, his solo career lagged behind those of bandmates such as .

His private life became public property, especially his two-and-a-half year relationship with Cheryl, due to their 10-year age gap.

The couple welcomed their son Bear in 2017 but split the following year.

His subsequent relationships drew further speculation, and in 2022 Liam responded furiously to a troll who claimed his latest girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, was with him for money, storming: “I’ve NEVER felt a love like I do for her.”

Yet it came at the end of a difficult year for the star, when his appearance on an Oscars red carpet drew concern due to the series of bizarre accents he spoke in.

Months later, he felt fans turned on him following an erratic podcast, in which he slated some of his former bandmates. The backlash plunged him to a low point and he became a recluse, not leaving his house for three months.

But having been brought up in the spotlight, he felt compelled to address his absence and offer explanations for it via .

In one of many candid interviews, he spoke about his mental health struggles, announcing with confidence: “Never had a bigger chip on my shoulder and I’m really glad to lose it.”

Liam was always keen to reassure fans of his wellbeing, last year proudly announcing he was six months clean and sober following a 100-day stint in a rehabilitation facility in Louisiana.

He thanked Cheryl and Bear for “giving me a little bit of freedom to go and get well” but warned: “I don’t know if I’ve even hit rock bottom yet. It feels like I can either pick my last moment as my rock bottom, or make a whole new low. That’s my choice.”

He had already told one TV show in 2019: “I’m lucky to be here.”

Admitting his regret at some of his “big-headed” digs at his former bandmates, once again he was keen to assure all was well, saying the experience had given him a grip on life. “I feel like I’ve got more of a handle on it,” he said.

It is poignant that the troubled star spent some of his last moments posting footage of himself, for his fans.

If you are struggling with mental health, you can speak to a trained advisor from Mind mental health charity on 0300 123 3393 or email

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