Liam Payne was in the world's biggest boyband. 5 years later, he hit 'rock bottom'.

In June 2022, Liam Payne became enemy number one of One Direction fans.

Yes, One Direction fans are still around. And yes, Liam Payne was actually in One Direction.

But last year, he went on Logan Paul's Impaulsive podcast and unloaded on his former bandmates, specifically Zayn Malik. 

The backlash was swift for Payne, who has said in a new YouTube video that this was one of the catalyst incidents that led to him checking into a treatment clinic in Louisiana for 100 days.

Listen: Cancelled charges and sentences Liam Payne. Post continues below audio.

For six years, Payne was part of the world's biggest boy band. 

Since the band's permanent hiatus in 2016, his music career has faltered, while many of his former bandmates, including Harry Styles and Niall Horan, enjoy sustained success.

"A lot of what I said just came from the wrong place. I was so angry at what was going on around me and instead of taking a look inwards I decided to look outwards at everybody else," Payne began, in his first upload since May 2022.

"My own frustrations with my own career and where I kind of landed, I took shots at everybody else which is wrong. Obviously, I want to apologise for that, in the first instance, because that's definitely not me.

"One of the biggest remarks I made was about the One Direction thing, and [it was] a lot of self-protection, I suppose, in that moment, more than anything. 

"The rest of the boys really stuck by me when I needed them most, they kinda came to the rescue. Even Zayn, as well, which is why I did send him a little thank you online. It came across really big-headed didn't it?"

He said there was a moment when he hit "rock bottom" and realised he needed to try something different.

Payne entered a wellness clinic in Louisiana, where he found solace and escape in drawing and poetry.

He said he was supported by his ex, former Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole, and their six-year-old son Bear.

"I feel like I've got more of a grip on life now, and everything that was getting way from me, I've got more of a handle on it," Payne said.

He said being in the centre helped a lot, but he had an additional 'aha moment' when at a Hans Zimmer concert in Dubai with a friend who was sober.

"I watching this beautiful symphony, I was having a drink, and I thought, 'You know what, this isn't really serving me at all, I don't really need this right now,'" Payne recalled.

"It's the first time I've ever put a drink down and gone to someone else, 'You finish this, I don't need it.' And I haven't picked one up since, which has almost been six months, which I'm excited about."

"It's good, it's good to be in this position," he said. "I definitely don't need those things anymore. The party's over."

Image: Getty.

In a 2019 interview with Men's Health Australia, Payne said he found the intense fame at the height of One Direction's success jarring and lonely, and he often drank to cope.

"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 pissed 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."

Just weeks ago, fans were relieved and excited when Payne and Malik exchanged messages on Instagram.

In early July, Malik uploaded a teaser of his new song on TikTok, and Payne commented on the video "this sounds big already".

Zayn wrote back and said, "Appreciate it bro, thanks for the love".

Feature image: Getty/YouTube.