Liam Payne says being in One Direction ‘nearly killed’ him

Liam Payne has revealed the brutal truth about his days in the boy band — and the massive toll it took on him.

The pop-star life grew so taxing on Liam Payne that he says it “nearly killed” him while he was in One Direction.

In a candid interview with podcast Table Manners with Jessie Ware, Payne revealed he began to drink too heavily and it took a toll on his health.

“I went through a stage in the band when I was drinking really heavily — I put weight on and didn’t notice,” he said, noting that people would refer to him as the “fat” member of the group.

Payne at the 2018 VMAs. Picture: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images/AFP

The band in 2015 following Zayn Malk’s departure. Picture: Xavier Collin/Image Press/Splash

“I was just really drunk every day. I didn’t see what was looking back at me in the mirror.”

Payne’s drinking became an around-the-clock event, and he’d only sober up for their concerts.

“I used to just get wasted and say whatever I wanted. Our schedule time was just a mess. I used to get off stage high off the endorphins and get horrendously drunk, get up at 5 in the afternoon and do it all again,” Payne, 26, recalled.

The original group of five back in 2014. Picture: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

It wasn’t until he saw a paparazzi photo of himself that he realised he needed to make a change.

“ … (I) was surprised I’d become that guy. I’m glad it happened,” he said, “it was worth it to make me realise what life’s made of.”

Payne, who shares son Bear with ex Cheryl Cole, said he became a shut-in.

“I learned to become a recluse a long time, and once you get in that pattern, it’s dangerous because you get stuck in it,” he admitted.

Speaking of himself and bandmates Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson, Payne explained, “I was going through this crazy circumstance. We were definitely overworked, 100 per cent in the band, we had no personal life, I learned nothing about myself.”

Though Payne admitted he feared leaving the band given their success, he said he knew it was necessary.

“Not a relief, it was scary at the time, but I needed it to stop,” he said. “It would have killed me.”

This article originally appeared on the NY Post and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as Liam Payne says being in One Direction ‘nearly killed’ him