Liam Payne’s health battles revealed from struggles as a baby to difficulties with mental wellbeing – as the One Direction star is found dead at just 31-years-old

Former One Direction star Liam Payne has died at the age of just 31, police said last night.

The multi-award winning singer fell from the third floor into the courtyard of the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires before medics confirmed his death.

Payne rose to stardom aged 16 after forming the boy band on The X Factor in 2010 alongside Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Harry Styles.

Despite coming third on the show, the group went onto global fame, selling 70 million records worldwide and topping the charts all across the world.

But the much-loved star was no stranger to health struggles, which he candidly discussed throughout his all-too-short career. 

He suffered two major scares, one of which saw him have to 32 injections in his arm every day. 

Born early and endless medical tests as a child

In the band’s 2011 biography ‘Dare to Dream – Life as One Direction’, Liam admitted: ‘When I was born I was effectively dead.’ 

In the book, which documents the group’s rollercoaster ride to superstardom, he added: ‘The doctors couldn’t get any reaction from me so I had to be brought round and although it seemed like I was okay, there were underlying problems.

‘I was born three weeks early and I kept being ill. 

‘From the age of zero to four I was always in hospital having tests done but they couldn’t find out what was wrong. 

‘They discovered that one of my kidneys wasn’t working properly and it had scarred. 

‘I had to have 32 injections in my arm in the morning and evening to try and make me better. 

‘I’ve still got both kidneys but one doesn’t work so I have to be careful not to drink too much, even water, and I have to keep myself as healthy as possible.’

Cancelled tour after serious kidney infection 

Last year, the Story of My Life singer was rushed to hospital in ‘agony’ from serious kidney pain. 

He fell ill while on holiday in Lake Como celebrating his one-year anniversary with girlfriend Kate Cassidy.

Just one month earlier, he had been forced to postpone his South American tour due to a ‘serious kidney infection’. 

‘It’s with a heavy heart I have to tell you that we have no other choice but to postpone my upcoming tour of South America,’ he wrote at the time. 

‘It’s something I wouldn’t wish on anyone, and doctors orders are that I now need to rest and recover.’

The painful and unpleasant illness can cause fevers, back pain and a burning sensation when you pass urine. 

If it is not treated it can cause permanent kidney damage. 

A common bladder infection, known as cystitis, is often the cause of a kidney infection.

The initial infection can be triggered by a type of bacteria getting into the urethra, a tube that carries urine out of your body.

Although most people who get cystitis will not develop a kidney infection, sometimes bacteria travels up from the bladder to the kidneys.

Open about struggles with alcohol   

In July 2023, Liam revealed he had completed 100 days in a Louisiana rehab after hitting ‘rock bottom’. 

During his three month long stay at the centre, he had minimal contact with the outside world and spent a lot of time of focusing on art and poetry.

‘Turning the phone back on was a little bit scary,’ he told fans in a video. ‘I’ve been trying to learn to get to know this new guy.’ 

He also addressed controversial comments he made on YouTube star Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast in 2022 about his former band members.   

Expressing remorse, he added: ‘I took shots at everybody else… came across as really big headed. 

‘I want to apologise for that.’

Liam thanked his then-six-year-old son Bear and his ex-girlfriend and Bear’s mother Cheryl for supporting his decision to get better.

He added that his former bandmates had ‘stuck by me’ and ‘came to my rescue’.

In remarks to Men’s Health Australia in 2019, Liam also explained how challenging he found fame, often resorting to alcohol for coping.

‘It’s almost like putting the Disney costume on before you step up on stage and underneath the Disney costume I was pissed quite a lot of the time because there was no other way to get your head around what was going on,’ he said. 

‘I mean, it was fun. We had an absolute blast, but there were certain parts of it where it just got a little bit toxic.’ 

Dark thoughts but committed to recovery 

The What Makes You Beautiful singer had also candidly opened up about his mental health and substance abuse issues, admitting to having ‘severe suicidal thoughts’ and a heavy drug use during his time with One Direction. 

Speaking on the Diary of a CEO podcast in 2021, he told host Stephen Bartlett: ‘I was worried how far my rock bottom was going to be. 

‘Where’s rock bottom for me? And you would never have seen it. I’m very good at hiding it. No one would ever have seen it.

‘There is some stuff that I have definitely never, never spoken about. 

‘It was really, really, really severe. And it was a problem. And it was only until I saw myself after that, I was like “Right, I need to fix myself”.’

He also spoke about seeing pictures of himself on a boat looking ‘all bloated out,’ referring to his appearance then as his ‘pills-and-booze face’. 

He added: ‘My face was just, like, 10 times more than it is now. I just didn’t like myself very much, and then I made a change.’