Were Liam Payne and Maya Henry once expecting?
In an interview published on Wednesday, May 15, the One Direction member’s ex-fiancée, 23, revealed she had an abortion years ago — though she didn't identify who the father was.
While discussing her new book, Looking Forward, the Instagram star confessed the character Mallory in her novel was “definitely inspired” by her real life.
“What I went through in real life is very similar to what Mallory went through in the book. I definitely did have some complications, and I did have to go to the hospital alone,” she said of the abortion.
“It was very lonely, 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. It’s just mind-boggling to me that you could tell a woman how they’re going to feel,” the brunette beauty explained.
Though she does not seem to regret her decision, she did admit it was a tough one.
Henry noted, “If it were up to me, I wouldn’t have done it. 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 did not specify when the abortion took place or whom she was dating at the time.
The boy band star and the brunette beauty began dating in 2019, when Henry was 18 and Payne was 26. The couple got engaged in 2020 before ending their relationship for good in 2022.
“There’s other things I won’t speak about that were too much for someone to deal with,” Henry said of their split. “I think at that point I’d grown so much that I was like, ‘I don’t deserve this.’ It just got to the point where I just couldn’t handle those types of things anymore. I feel like when you’re disrespected so much, you’re just done. You’ve had enough.”
Never miss a story — sign up for the OK! newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what OK! has to offer. It’s gossip too good to wait for!
“At first I was hard on myself, because I would also blame myself. And I’m like, well, I put myself in this situation, and I didn’t leave. I had family, I had the financial means to leave and get out, and I didn’t,” she added of the aftermath of the relationship. “But I also think that goes to show it doesn’t matter [your] background, sometimes these things happen. You just have to learn from them.”
Peopleinterviewed Henry.