Liam Payne was ‘cycling through periods of ruinous behavior’ prior to his tragic death at 31: source

Liam Payne spent the final years of his life in crisis, a source who knew the former One Direction member tells Page Six exclusively.

“Liam had been cycling through periods of ruinous behavior for a long time,” our insider shares.

“He was open about his struggles but tried to downplay them at times. His demons were much worse than he let on.”

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Payne died Wednesday in Buenos Aires after falling from the third floor of a hotel. He was 31.

The cause of death was not immediately released, but police said the “Strip That Down” singer may have been “under the influence of drugs or alcohol” before throwing himself off the balcony of his room and sustaining “extremely serious” — and ultimately fatal — injuries.

Earlier in the day, Payne posted a video on Snapchat saying he was having a “lovely day in Argentina” with his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, but it appeared to have been old footage, as the influencer, 25, flew home to Florida earlier this week, according to her TikTok account.

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The English pop star, who got his start on “The X Factor” in 2008 as one-fifth of One Direction, had spoken candidly in recent years about battling addiction and mental health issues.

Payne said on a podcast in 2021 that he hit “rock bottom” and experienced “suicidal ideation” during his time in the chart-topping boy band, which broke up in 2016 and also included Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson. (Zayn Malik quit the group in 2015.)

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But the “Stack It Up” crooner, who shared a 7-year-old son named Bear with his ex Cheryl Cole , announced in 2023 that he had gone to rehab and was more than 100 days sober .

Payne made one of his final public appearances on Oct. 2 while attending Horan’s concert in Buenos Aires, an olive branch of sorts after he trashed One Direction during a 2022 interview.

Styles, 30, Horan, 31, Tomlinson, 32, and Malik, 31, have yet to publicly react to the news of their former bandmate’s death .

Reps for Payne did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.

If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, call the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 988.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.

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