Mary Byrne, who appeared alongside Liam Payne in the X Factor in 2010, says she found it difficult to ‘come to terms’ with his tragic death.
The One Direction singer collapsed from the third floor of the courtyard of the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires on Wednesday at the age of 31.
Irish singer Mary, 64, who reached the semi-finals of the ITV show as One Direction came third, revealed she last spoke to Liam in 2018 and during their chat he told her about his struggles with fame.
She told me The sun: ‘I wouldn’t say fame wasn’t for him, but I would say they got way too big, way too fast, they literally burned out after five years.’
Mary said Liam was ‘finding it really hard’ being stuck in hotel rooms while traveling the world and not being able to go out because of the crowds of fans.
Mary Byrne, 64, who appeared alongside Liam Payne in the X Factor in 2010, says she found it difficult to ‘come to terms’ with his tragic death (pictured 2016)
The One Direction singer plunged into the courtyard of the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires from the third floor on Wednesday at the age of 31 (Mary and Liam pictured during X Factor in 2010)
Irish singer Mary reached the semi-finals of the ITV show while One Direction finished third (pictured on the show in 2010)
“He said, ‘I love it, it’s brilliant’, but he said, ‘It’s hard and it’s not what I expected,’ those were the words he said.”
She continued, “I followed his career and these young men and you think how proud you are. I always felt proud as a mother because I was the mommy figure in the house.
Before she gives in, she can’t even “begin to imagine” what Liam’s mother is feeling in the aftermath of his death.
Liam has opened up about how One Direction’s global fame changed his life and affected his relationship with drugs and alcohol, once admitting: ‘I don’t know if I’ve hit rock bottom yet.’
In conversation with Stephen Bartlett on the Diary of the CEO Podcast in 2021, Liam admitted: ‘I was scared of how far my rock bottom would be. Where is the low point for me? And you would never have seen it. I can hide it very well’.
‘I don’t even know if I’ve hit him yet. I can make that choice now and choose my last moment as my low point, or I can reach a whole new low point.”
He admitted that he suffered from ‘social anxiety’ and ‘stress’ for years due to being famous, and discussed the strain his mental health faced while not having the freedom to go anywhere as a boy band member.
Saying, “It feels to me like when we were in the band. The best way to keep us safe was to lock us in our rooms, and what’s in the room? A minibar.
Mary, she last spoke to Liam in 2018 and during their conversation he told her about his struggles with fame (Liam pictured in 2018)
She said: ‘I wouldn’t say fame wasn’t for him, but I would say they got way too big, way too fast, they literally burned out after five years’ (One Direction pictured on The X Factor)
She said Liam was ‘finding it really tough’ being stuck in hotel rooms while traveling the world and not being able to go out because of crowds of fans (2019 photo)
Liam admitted he suffered from ‘social anxiety’ and ‘stress’ for years due to being famous, and discussed the strain his mental health was under (pictured in 2023)
“So I had a party for one that seemed to last many years of my life, and then you look back at how long you’ve been drinking? And Jesus Christ, that’s a long time, even for someone as young as me.”
In multiple interviews, Liam explained how he had turned to alcohol to cope with both One Direction’s massive success and subsequent split, telling Men’s Health Australia in 2019 that “it’s hard when you have the level of fame that we had in the band. ‘
“There are a lot of people with mental health issues who aren’t really getting the help they need, and I think that’s a bit of a problem in our industry.”
“It’s the same thing that happens to everyone, it’s been happening since the ’70s. You know what the pitfalls are and if you’re lucky enough, like me, to get out of that scenario and back to a sense of normality, then you know it’s a little different.”
Liam compared performing on stage and in public to “putting on the Disney costume” and admitted: “I was [drunk] often because there was no other way to find out what was going on.”
“I mean, it was fun. We had a blast, but there were certain parts where it just got a little bit toxic.”
It comes after X Factor boss Simon Cowell faced a backlash over Liam’s death, with contestant Katie Waissel declaring ‘we all know the truth’ and Rebecca Ferguson criticizing the ‘exploitation and profiteering of young stars’.
It comes after X Factor boss Simon Cowell faced a backlash over Liam’s death, with contestant Katie Waissel declaring ‘we all know the truth’ and Rebecca Ferguson criticizing the ‘exploitation and profiteering of young stars’ (pictured with One Direction on The X Factor)
Katie, a 38-year-old singer-songwriter who auditioned alongside Liam in the 2010 series of X Factor, mentioned Cowell in two statements
Rebecca Ferguson, who appeared on the X Factor alongside Payne and Waissel in 2010, also intervened today
Waissel, a 38-year-old singer-songwriter who also auditioned during the 2010 series, mentioned Cowell in two statements accusing music bosses of focusing on “profit rather than people.”
Cowell, 65, was an X Factor judge and signed One Direction to his music label Syco.
Waissel first took to
“If Simon Cowell dared to make a statement about the heartbreaking, tragic loss of my dear friend Liam, he would be a fool. We all know the truth… and I’m sure it will all come out.”
Rebecca Ferguson, who appeared on the X Factor alongside Payne and Waissel in 2010, previously shared her view that the music industry is hiding “terrible human rights abuses” and claimed she has faced “systematic misogyny and bullying” throughout her career.