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Liam Payne’s struggle with addiction and his tricky journey after the end of One Direction

Despite finding global success with One Direction, Liam Payne struggled with addiction and the pressures of his post-boy-band fame

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Fans leave tributes at a memorial for Liam Payne in London after he died in Buenos Aires. Despite success with One Direction, Payne struggled with addiction and the pressures of his post-band fame. Photo: Getty Images

“Hey man, are you good?”

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AJ McLean had reason to be concerned about Liam Payne. Since production wrapped on the new Netflix music competition series where they had met earlier this year, the Backstreet Boys veteran and One Direction star had talked almost every day on WhatsApp – at least until Payne’s sudden two-week silence early last month.
Plus McLean, 46, knew Payne, 31, had struggled with addiction. On the set of Building the Band, where Payne was a celebrity mentor to contestants and McLean the host, the two forged an unusually tight bond over their shared experience: starting their careers in the crucible of teen celebrity and later battling substance abuse.

“He was an absolute light, such an old soul,” says McLean, describing the “very older brother” feeling he developed for Payne. “But you could tell you were talking to someone who had seen some s***, who had not lived a normal life.”

AJ McLean performs in Nashville, Tennessee in 2024. He forged an unusually tight bond with Liam Payne after working on a Netflix show together. Photo: AFP
AJ McLean performs in Nashville, Tennessee in 2024. He forged an unusually tight bond with Liam Payne after working on a Netflix show together. Photo: AFP
McLean, who had his three-year sober anniversary in September, says he does not believe Payne was using drugs during the period when the Netflix programme filmed. He says they often spoke “candidly about sobriety, sharing stories and one-upping each other. We could laugh about it all, because if you’re still there to talk about it, that means you’re moving in a good direction.”
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