One Direction star Liam Payne was ‘sectioned’ after near-fatal overdose months before death, a close friend claims

Liam Payne died last Wednesday. Picture: Getty

One Direction star Liam Payne was “sectioned” after suffering an overdose in the months before his death in October last year, a close friend of the late singer has claimed.

Payne tragically passed away aged 31 on October 16 after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires.

Payne’s close friend Roger Nores has now claimed the singer’s father had him “ sectioned” following a serious drug overdose in May.

“Originally, they tried to have him sectioned for 90 days,” he told the MailOnline.

“That ended up getting cut down to 30 days. But Liam talked his way out after just three.”

Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Zane Malik and Niall Horan of ‘One Direction’ together with Simon Cowell. Picture: Getty

Following his release, Mr Nores said he set Payne up with a team of medical professionals in a bid to help fight his addiction struggles.

“He knew he needed help,” Mr Nores said.

“He did four months sober. Liam then began to go to the gym every day. He was really looking after himself.

“And it wasn’t easy. He required 24-hour attention. Anyone who’s looked after an addict knows that it isn’t straightforward.

“It was draining, but I wanted to do it – that’s what friends are for. After four months, I truly believed he had turned a corner.”

Payne’s former fiancee has revealed the extent of his struggle with serious drug abuse, months after the One Direction star’s death in Argentina.

Liam Payne and Maya Henry attend the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s 30th Annual Academy Awards Viewing Party on March 27, 2022. Picture: Getty

Maya Henry said that Payne had smoked heroin, sexted with fans and struggled with his identity during their relationship.

Payne and Henry were together from 2019 and got engaged in 2020. They split up in 2021 before getting engaged again later that year. They ended their relationship a second and last time in May 2022.

Henry, 25, told Rolling Stone magazine that “it was the drug use and addictions that tore us apart.”

Five people have been charged in Argentina in connection with the death, three with manslaughter and two with supplying cocaine.