Liam Payne says One Direction was 'toxic' and reveals he turned to heavy drinking while struggling to cope with the band's global fame
Liam Payne says his time in One Direction was 'a little bit toxic'.
The singer, 25, admitted he struggled to cope at times during the height of the boyband's global fame and turned to alcohol to help maintain a happy facade.
In a candid interview with Men's Health Australia, Liam revealed he still struggles with feeling in control now and believes more mental healthcare is needed for performers.
Toxic: Liam Payne says his time in One Direction was 'a little bit toxic' (pictured in 2013, L-R Liam, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles)
'When you're doing hundreds and hundreds of [concerts] and it's the same 22 songs at the same time every single day, even if you're not happy, you've got to go out there,' he said.
'It's almost like putting the Disney costume on before you step up on stage and underneath the Disney costume I was p***ed quite a lot of the time because there was no other way to get your head around what was going on, 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, it's difficult when you have the level of fame that we had in the band.'
Hard: The singer, 25, struggled to cope at times during the height of the boyband's global fame and turned to alcohol to help maintain a happy facade (pictured last month)
Liam added he was 'lucky to be able out of that scenario and back into a sense of normality, then you know it's a bit different'.
When asked if he ever felt in control during his time in One Direction, Liam answered 'no' and said he still struggles now because he doesn't like to let people down.
Full story: Read Liam's full interview in the July issue of Men's Health, out now
One Direction - which is also comprised of Niall Horan, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson - went on an indefinite hiatus in 2016 so the group members could focus on their solo careers.
Founding member Zayn Malik left the group in 2015.
The X Factor star went on to establish himself as a solo artist, while juggling raising his son Bear, two, with his ex-girlfriend Cheryl.
Liam previously said his anxiety was so bad at times he struggled to leave the house.
He told Esquire Middle East: 'I'd be going in to order a coffee at Starbucks and I would sweat because I wouldn't know whether I was doing the right thing or not. I would be thinking, "f***, I don't want to be here".'
'I even used to have a really bad problem with going to petrol stations and paying for petrol.
'I can feel it now - it was like this horrible anxiety where I'd be sweating buckets in the car thinking, "I don't want to do this".'
Read Liam's full interview in the July issue of Men's Health, out now.
His main focus: The X Factor star went on to establish himself as a solo artist, while juggling raising his son Bear, two, with his ex-girlfriend Cheryl (pictured 2017)
