Liam Payne has revealed he has been sober for more than 100 days, and he’s feeling better than ever.
The former One Direction member was interviewed by iFL TV at an influencer boxing match at Wembley Arena on 13 May when he shared news of his sobriety. The 29-year-old singer has previously opened up about struggling with “severe” suicidal thoughts and addiction during the height of his boy band fame.
“I’m sober now, over 100 days. I feel amazing, I feel really, really good and the support from the fans has been really, really good, so I’m super happy,” he shared.
The “Strip That Down” singer also took the opportunity to reveal that he has been recording a new album, adding: “I definitely want to tour this time, which is unusual because I wasn’t sure I was going to tour for a long time. I was kind of over it for a little bit, but I’m really excited to get back out on the road and go and see all the fans and get about a bit. It’s going to be fun.”
Liam Payne has previously admitted to suffering from mental health issues and addiction during his days in One Direction. During an appearance on The Diary of a CEO podcast in June 2021, the father of one told host Steven Bartlett that there were moments he struggled with “really, really severe” suicidal thoughts.
“It was a problem,” he said.
Payne ultimately decided to change his drinking habits after seeing photos of himself in the press. “There were a few pictures of me on a boat and I was all bloated out and I call it my pills-and-booze face,” he recalled, describing how his face had looked “10 times bigger” than it currently does.
The “Bedroom Floor” singer has also admitted to hiding his issues with alcoholism “very well” while promoting his solo music career in 2017. He later decided to abstain from drinking any alcohol for a year, which he said had a huge effect on his social life.
“My social life completely plummeted,” Payne told The Guardian in 2019.
Payne, who was a member of One Direction from 2010 to 2016 prior to the band’s indefinite hiatus, explained how performing in stadiums full of thousands of fans had a significant impact on him when he was later off-stage.
“Doing a show to however many thousands of people, then being stuck by yourself in a country where you can’t go out anywhere – what else are you going to do? The minibar is always there,” he said.
Most recently, Liam Payne praised his fellow One Direction members – Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, and Zayn Malik – for helping him through a “dark time”.
Speaking at the premiere of Tomlinson’s documentary All of Those Voices last March, the “Polaroid” singer described how he “wouldn’t be here” without the X Factor musicians. “It was massively important for me to be here,” Payne said. “I’ll be honest with you, all the boys have been here for me and I’ve suffered a bit of a dark time in my life at the moment, and honestly, I wouldn’t be here without the boys.”
