Sharing her side. Aliana Mawla denied that she and boyfriend Liam Payne began dating while he was still involved with his former fiancée Maya Henry.
“Aliana is very taken back by the accusations that have been made regarding a relationship with Liam while he was still engaged or involved with his ex-fiancée,” a representative for the model, 24, tells Us Weekly about their romance. “Under no circumstances would Aliana have involved herself in a public relationship as such if there was any truth to the comments that have been made.”
Adding that Mawla is “very protective of her personal life,” the rep noted that she wants to simply enjoy her new relationship with the former One Direction member, 28: “She is very happy and does not wish to discuss this situation moving forward.”
Payne’s new romance made headlines earlier this month, when Henry, 22, was tagged in a series of photos taken from Mawla’s Instagram Story. “I love all of the fans so much but please stop sending me these pictures of my fiancé wrapped around another woman,” Henry wrote via Instagram on May 22. “This is not me and it’s hard enough knowing this has happened without seeing it. Enough now.”
Us confirmed the following day that Payne and the Texas native had split, with a source noting that they had broken up “over a month ago.”
The “Strip That Down” singer was first spotted with Henry in the summer of 2018 and made their relationship Instagram official the following year. “Sometimes I don’t recognize this happy guy … sure glad you brought him back though,” Payne wrote alongside a picture of himself and Henry in September 2019. “Thank you for always keeping the biggest smile on my face through all the stress and making me realize how perfect my life really is.”
Though the former couple got engaged in August 2020, they called it quits for the first time in June 2021.
“I am indeed [single],” Payne confirmed during an episode of “The Diary of a CEO” podcast at the time. “I feel like more than anything at this point, I’m more disappointed in myself that I keep on hurting people. That annoys me. I’ve just not been very good at relationships.”
The X Factor alum, who shares 4-year-old son Bear with ex-girlfriend Cheryl Cole, revealed that he had a “pattern” when it came to relationships. “I’m just not very good at them so I just need to work on myself before I put myself on to somebody else,” Payne explained. “I feel like 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.”
The England native and Henry reconciled one month later, attending the BFI London Film Festival arm-in-arm. She did not wear her engagement ring to the event, but the duo packed on the PDA for the cameras while posing for photos. Henry was last spotted wearing the giant diamond in a December 2021 Instagram photo. (She has since deleted almost all of her photos with Payne from social media.)
Keep scrolling to see everything you need to know about the messy split and Payne’s new relationship: