Liam Payne and Zayn Malik’s rocky relationship – backstage scraps, resentment and tragedy

Liam Payne ‘s death surprised the world – none more so than his fellow One Direction bandmates.

After some initial silence from the band, Liam’s former X Factor co-stars came out in force to pay tribute to the star, saying they were “completely devastated”. They added in a heartfelt tribute to the Strip That Down hitmaker, saying: “The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever.”

However, as the world comes together to mourn the loss of Liam, some have delved deep into Liam’s relationships with his former One Direction bandmates. Fans have since uncovered the long-standing tension between Liam and former co-star Zayn Malik, who infamously left the band in 2015.

READ MORE: One Direction break silence with emotional statement after Liam Payne’s death

Click for more brilliant Daily Star showbiz stories

So, as the world continues to express its sorrow at Liam’s passing, Daily Star looks into Liam and Zayn’s rocky relationship.

Backstage fights

While it appears now that the pair not have the best relationship, Liam and Zayn initially got on well during their time in the band. However, cracks would start to appear in their friendship after Zayn opted to quit the band in March of 2015.

In an interview with Variety magazine, Zayn opened up on how being together all the time affected their dynamic, admitting: “There was obviously underlying issues within our friendships, too. We’d got sick of each other, if I’m being completely honest.”

This appeared to grind Liam’s gears, who would not let go of the beef, appearing on controversial Youtuber Logan Paul’s podcast Impaulsive in 2022, where he revealed that one member had pinned him up against a wall. After years of speculation from fans on which of his bandmates could do this, Liam’s former fiancée Maya Henry revealed it was Zayn, explaining in a TikTok released earlier this month: “He told me it was Zayn, so…”

The disastrous interview would go on to spawn meme after meme, with Liam being made out to be the butt of the joke. Liam would later clarify online afterwards, saying: “They mentioned a specific incident involving Zayn which I responded to – but listening back maybe I didn’t articulate myself as well as I could have.”

Band resentment

Zayn became the first of the five members of the band to leave the project after five years of chart success. This seemed to weigh on Liam’s mind, as in 2019 – four years after the incident – he explained in an interview with GQ that the Pillowtalk singer never formally said goodbye to the band.

Things only seemed to get worse for the duo when Liam spilled the beans on whether Zayn would want to reunite with his former bandmates. Speaking to chat show host Jonathan Ross, Liam explained: “I don’t that’ll ever happen; when he left, it wasn’t on great terms.

“I don’t feel like it’s a thing; if he didn’t wanna here, then he shouldn’t be here,” he continued. “Good for him, he’s gone off and doing his own thing – and he’s doing really well, so I don’t wanna mess with his stuff.”

Zayn would also be mentioned more in the Impaulsive podcast, with Liam admitting that Zayn had been “a d**k” at points. Liam would later apologise for his comments, saying that he made the remarks because he was frustrated with the stunted growth of his own solo career.

Tragedy strikes

During the course of the beef, Zayn had kept his mouth shut publicly, refusing to speak out on the backstage drama that affected his relationship with Liam. However, following Liam’s death on Wednesday (October 16), Zayn broke his silence to pay tribute to his former bandmate.

In a touching post on his solo Instagram account, Zayn said that he was “in bits” at hearing of his passing, admitting that he was a huge inspiration who was “there with a positive outlook and reassuring smile”.

He added: “Even though you were younger than me you were always more sensible than me, you were headstrong, opinionated, and gave no f***s about telling people when they were wrong. Even though we butted heads because of this a few times, I always secretly respected you for it.”

Zayn finished by saying that he had “lost a brother” when he discovered Liam has passed away and that he was “beyond devastated”. He wished Liam well and said that he will be in his heart forever.

For more of the latest showbiz and TV news from the Daily Star, make sure you sign up for one of our newsletters here.

Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk