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A ONE Direction mystery has finally been solved thanks to Liam Payne’s ex-girlfriend, Maya Henry. 

Maya, who dated Liam from 2019 to 2022, spoke out on TikTok to give fans answers over a violent altercation that happened years ago. 

Liam Payne spoke about the incident in a podcast in 2022
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Liam Payne spoke about the incident in a podcast in 2022Credit: Getty
During their time in One Direction, an incident resulted with Liam being pinned against a wall by a bandmate
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During their time in One Direction, an incident resulted with Liam being pinned against a wall by a bandmateCredit: Getty
Maya Henry confirmed it as Zayn Malik in the incident
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Maya Henry confirmed it as Zayn Malik in the incidentCredit: Getty

During an appearance on Logan Paul’s podcast Impaulsive in 2022, Liam revealed there was once an argument backstage that erupted into violence, with one of his former bandmates pinning him against a wall. 

Since then, fans have been theorising over who out of Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik or Harry Styles it was, with Liam kipping zipped about the assailant. 

Now, duetting a video from a Directioner, Maya finally put the mystery to bed, explaining: “I see this all the time, everywhere, I’ve heard this insufferable story so many times. 

“He told me it was Zayn, so…” 

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During the Impaulsive interview, Liam bluntly told host Logan: “There was an argument backstage and one member, in particular, threw me up a wall. 

“So I said to him, ‘If you don’t remove those hands, there’s a high likelihood you’ll never use them again.’” 

The interview proved to be a nightmare for Liam, with dozens of comments being spun into memes and prompting discussions on life inside One Direction. 

Among his claims, Liam said he wanted to fight Justin Bieber and took shots at his former bandmates’ solo careers. 

Without going into detail, Liam also suggested Zayn's parents’ lack of support for him as a youngster in the spotlight was partially to blame for his at times aggressive behaviour, which included an altercation with Logan’s brother Jake in 2020. 

“There’s many reasons why I dislike Zayn and there’s many reasons why I’ll always, always be on his side,” Payne said. 

Liam Payne hits out at One Direction bandmate Zayn Malik in candid podcast interview

“If I had had to go through what he went through, with his growth and whatever else. 

“My parents are overly supportive to the point where it’s annoying at times. Zayn had a different upbringing in that sense.”

After the online backlash, Liam spoke out again to clarify his comments, referring to Zayn as “family” and backtracking on what he said. 

"They mentioned a specific incident involving Zayn which I responded to - but listening back maybe I didn’t articulate myself as well as I could have,” he said. 

"I was saying that there will always be things we disagree on but that I will always, always be on his side. That’s family.

"Zayn is my brother and I will stand by him forever."

Maya and Liam dated between 2019 and 2022
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Maya and Liam dated between 2019 and 2022Credit: Getty
Zayn removed himself from the public eye for a period for his mental health
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Zayn removed himself from the public eye for a period for his mental healthCredit: Getty
All the 1D band members have released their own music in the years since they went on an 'indefinite hiatus'
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All the 1D band members have released their own music in the years since they went on an 'indefinite hiatus'Credit: Alamy
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