Liam Payne's ex-fiancée Maya Henry targeted with abuse after One Direction star's death

The two had a tempestuous relationship before they eventually called off their engagement in June 2021

Maya Henry, the ex-fiancée of Liam Payne, has been subjected to a barrage of horrific abuse on social media following the devastating news of his death last night (October 16). Henry had recently accused the One Direction star of repeated unwanted contact before his passing, and it's understood that the model had commenced legal action, issuing a cease and desist letter to the 31-year-old just last week.

Despite the tragic circumstances, trolls have targeted Henry with appalling messages, with one commenting: "Now he is dead. Are you happy? " Another added: "It was all your fault". In a TikTok video dated October 6, Henry detailed her experiences since their split, alleging that Payne would message her from various numbers. "Ever since we broke up he messages me, (will) blow up my phone. It's always from different phone numbers too. I never know where it's going to come from", she said.

She further claimed the singer created new iCloud accounts to reach out to her and even emailed her, as well as contacting her mother and friends, while encouraging his fans to post negative comments about her. Henry and Payne's relationship began in 2019, leading to an engagement in August 2020, reports the Manchester Evening News.

However, they separated during lockdown and called off their engagement in June 2021. On The Diary Of A CEO podcast that same year, Payne expressed regret for "hurting people" and acknowledged that he was actively working on his personal issues.

He added: "That's where I got to in my last relationship. I just wasn't giving a very good version of me anymore, that I didn't appreciate and I didn't like being.

"I can honestly say I feel better out of it. I didn't feel good doing what I did but it had to happen. That's just the corniest way of saying it was the best for us both – whatever, cool, nice story, bro. But it just feels like that. I know it was a problem so I need to sort myself. I already feel good. It has already got me more concentrated and I hope she is happy."

At the time of his passing, Payne was dating influencer Kate Cassidy. He had previously been in a relationship with former Girls Aloud star Cheryl from 2016 until 2018, and their son, Bear, was born in March 2017.