One Direction’s Liam Payne Shares He’s More Than 100 Days Sober

One Direction alum Liam Payne revealed last week that he is over 100 days sober and he intends to keep it that way. The 29-year-old singer began opening up about his struggles with substance abuse a few years ago, and is now making new strides in his journey of self-improvement. He said that he owes much of his success to his fans.

“I feel amazing,” Payne said in an interview with iFL TV. “I feel really, really good, and support from the fans and everything has been really, really good. So I’m super happy.” Payne also said that he is working on new music, with a whole new solo album for fans to look forward to.

“I’ve been making an album for a change, which is quite fun,” he said. “It’s been good. So, I’m excited to bring it out, and I definitely want to tour, which is usual. Because I wasn’t sure I was going to tour for a long time. I was kinda over it for a little bit. But I’m really excited to get back out on the road and go and see all the fans and get about it. It’s gonna be fun.”

Payne first came forward about his substance abuse issues in June of 2021 during an interview on The Diary of a CEO podcast. At the time, he discussed alcohol as his primary vice but referenced using prescription drugs recreationally as well. During that interview, he said that he was one month sober, but clearly the work has continued since then.

“It was only until I saw myself after that I was like, ‘All right, I need to fix myself,’” Payne said at the time. “It was like a few pictures of me on a boat and I’m all, like, bloated out, and I call it pills-and-booze face….My face was just like 10 times more than it is now. And I just didn’t like myself very much, so then I made a change.”

Payne confirmed that his drinking had begun to be a problem while he was still with his record-setting boy band One Direction. He said: “The problem we had in the band-and I don’t blame anybody for this. I don’t want to seem like I’m whining or moaning, ‘Oh my god, look at my life’ whatever. But it feels to me like, when we were in the band, the best way to secure us, because of how big it got, was to just lock us in a room. And, of course, what is in the room? A minibar.”

“So at a certain point, I thought, ‘Well, I’m going to have a party for one,’ and that just seemed to carry on throughout many years of my life,” Payne went on. “And then you look back how long you’ve been drinking for, you’re like, ‘Jesus Christ, that’s a long time,’ even for someone as young as I was. It was wild.”

Payne did not reveal how far along he is on his new solo project or when fans can expect to see it. For now, his music is available on most major streaming services.