Inside Justin Bieber’s very public meltdown – and why some friends are now telling his wife Hailey that it’s time for her to go it alone and leave him…

When wild-child pop star Justin Bieber married model and socialite Hailey Baldwin in a picture perfect wedding at a sprawling waterfront resort in South Carolina, his friends not only thought she was The One, but also the woman who would save him. 

The couple exchanged Tiffany & Co wedding bands back in 2018 in front of an A-list crowd, which included Kendall and Kylie Jenner, and Justin’s close friend Jaden Smith, son of Will.

And their union was met with some relief by many in Bieber’s circle who described Hailey, then 28, as the ‘Justin Tamer’ who had come along at just the right time.

Fast forward six years, though, and marital bliss – let alone Hailey’s calming effect – are long forgotten.

Justin, who was just 15 when he released his debut song One Time, which won him millions of fans, is having the most worrying public meltdown since Britney Spears. 

Earlier this year Justin was spotted looking hollow-eyed in New York as speculation grew that all is not well in his marriage. He looked nothing if not dishevelled, sporting a bright yellow hoodie, oversized cargo trousers, and slipper-like shoes.

And late last week, the singer furthered fuelled fears for his wellbeing after posting a bizarre video of himself on Instagram smoking what appears to be a joint. 

In the video he is seen inhaling and exhaling so close to the camera that he is engulfed in smoke, and the disturbing clip ends with Justin, who is wearing a black hat and hoodie, flashing a toothy smile.

This follows another recent video which showed the now 30-year-old on board a plane with a friend rapping about ‘flying high like a magpie.’

Holding a huge packet of crisps and shirtless, he waved his arms as the friend danced beside him, singing: ‘I go high like a fly guy. I fly high like a magpie. I go high like a bat guy.’

The clip, which was also posted on social media, prompted concern from his army of fans, with one writing: ‘He’s desperate for help! Justin you are so loved!’ while another wrote: ‘I’ll be praying for your healing.’ 

Indeed, one music executive who knew him from his time in the UK fears that he is ‘literally having a meltdown as we watch. Where will this end?’ 

Worryingly, it appears that Hailey, who only last year gave birth to their first child, a boy named Jack, is not able to save Justin from himself this time. 

As the daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin, Hailey, who grew up in Hollywood, is no stranger to the pitfalls of fame. But there are fears that even she may not be able to ride this one out as she struggles to juggle motherhood with the launch of her own make up brand Rhode. 

At the pop-up launch in Los Angeles just over a week ago, Justin again appeared to be acting strangely as his wife welcomed guests. 

Wearing baggy jeans, a shapeless leather jacket, his signature white beanie and a pair of dark glasses, in one viral video he is seen grinning inanely as he shifts his weight from leg to leg.

The troubled star later shared an Instagram post from the event showing pictures of him and Hailey hugging with the caption, ‘Congrats baby on your beautiful @rhode pop up’. 

But Hailey failed to acknowledge the post and, perhaps tellingly, Justin is not present in any of the 11 photographs she posted of the event. 

Clearly, while Justin is struggling with his demons, Hailey has no choice but to get on with it. However, her determination to keep her career going at a time when Justin appears to be in crisis has prompted much criticism from his fans, one of the more extreme of whom rages on Instagram about her ‘greed’ while another asks: ‘How do you sleep at night?’ 

Others have begged her to get Justin the help he needs. 

Hailey’s friends, meanwhile, have been quietly telling her to end the marriage. One source told the Mail: ‘Hailey loves him madly but he’s a loose cannon. Some of her friends have advised her to go it alone and leave him.’

Another insider claimed that Hailey was ‘deeply concerned’ and didn’t know ‘where to turn [for] help.’

Meanwhile, another source close to the couple says that Hailey has struggled, like many new mums, with early motherhood, and just doesn’t have the brain space to support her husband in the way she once did.

‘It can’t be easy,’ said the pal. ‘She has a six month-old to look after while Justin is clearly also having huge problems. It doesn’t matter how rich or famous you are, that’s hard and it is going to put a strain on things.’

There was also unsubstantiated speculation on social media that the couple might have spent Christmas apart – although Hailey appeared to slap this down in a cryptic post apparently aimed at her critics, showing a man laughing while repeating the phrase: ‘You’re not well, and it’s OK.’

Then, more recently, the couple dined separately at the same restaurant in New York’s West Village – with Justin arriving around 45 minutes after his wife had left. 

How times have changed, given that in the early days of their romance, which began in January 2016, Justin struggled to be away from Hailey.

I remember a music industry insider telling me of a time, about ten months into the relationship, when Justin paced restlessly in a plush backstage green room while on tour in the UK, desperately trying to contact his wife back home in the US for reassuring words of support.

‘He was kind of all over the place,’ said a witness at the time. ‘He was saying he needed to call Hailey but she wasn’t answering. 

‘Then there was such a relief when she did, he ran off to a corner to chat quietly so we couldn’t hear him, but as soon as Justin had got off the phone he seemed much more calm. 

‘He obviously really needed to talk to her, it was all very heightened. It was like she was calming him down.’ 

It was hard for Justin’s bosses to be cross because they were so relieved that Hailey had mellowed him, and this was briefed to the media repeatedly, presumably in an attempt to reassure the music world that he had got through his troubles.

Not only is his marriage now showing cracks but sources close to Justin say he has been struggling to cope with speculation about his friendship with disgraced rapper P Diddy, real name Sean Combs, who has been charged with a host of sex trafficking and racketeering offences, with more than 120 alleged victims coming forward.  Combs denies all the charges against him. 

The pair first met when Bieber was 14 and the star is said to have attended parties at Diddy’s home around that time. Indeed, Khloe Kardashian has previously revealed she saw the teenage Bieber at one of Diddy’s infamous parties, where the reality star claimed: ‘Half of the guests were naked.’ 

And Bieber was just 15 when he featured in a video with Diddy, who is 24 years his senior. In the resurfaced clip on YouTube, Diddy stands next to Bieber and tells the camera: ‘He’s having 48 hours with Diddy, where we hanging out and what we’re doing we can’t really disclose.’ 

Justin is said to be ‘disgusted’ by the claims his former mentor now faces and has been ‘advised to stay as far away as possible’ from the shamed artist. Another source added that Bieber was ‘in a hard place mentally’. 

At the heart of his current problems, I’m told, is loneliness. For many years, his long-time manager Scooter was his other trusted confidante. But the pair’s relationship has been strained in recent years and they are now no longer working together. 

Tellingly, earlier this month, Bieber ‘unfollowed’ his former mentor on social media in a clear and deliberate public parting of the ways. 

With neither his wife or Scooter at hand to support him emotionally, it’s perhaps not surprising that fans are growing increasingly worried for the troubled star.