Liam Payne admitted he had 'a lot of learning to do' on road to sobriety in past

Liam Payne opened up about his struggle with sobriety in a candid chat when he released his debut solo album back in 2019 but said he was finally on the right path

Liam Payne previously admitted he had "a lot of learning to do" on his road to sobriety in a candid chat.

The One Direction star - who tragically passed away on Wednesday after falling from a third-floor balcony of a hotel - opened up about his struggles in a 2019 interview as he worked to promote his solo album LP1. At the time of the chat Liam divulged that he had made a choice to go sober for a year as "a case of growing up."

He said: "Luckily for me at those times (when I was drinking), I had the best people around me to make me realise different points in my life where I could be better," he said. "And obviously, having kids completely changes the mindset around everything you do."

He added to USA Today: "I'm still quite young – I'd like to think so at least – so I still have a lot of learning left to go. I'm still very much finding myself as a person." Liam said that drinking in moderation was a "constant learning curve" for him but added that therapy was a way of finding a healthy relationship with alcohol.

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He continued: "As you get older, hangovers become a completely different thing. There's that age-old saying, 'I'll just have one,' but you never really know. Sometimes it doesn't matter if you do make a mistake or the night does go a little too far.

"As long as I can get my job done the next day at a capable level I'm happy with, I can just write that one off as a lesson and go, 'I won't do that again.' I still like to go out and enjoy myself."

The pop star died at the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, after visiting the country with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy. Liam's death has seen a public outpouring of grief from fans and his fellow celebrities, as well as his One Direction bandmates, music mogul and X Factor creator Simon Cowell, ex-girlfriend Cheryl Tweedy and friends and family of the singer who was just 31 years old.

Investigations into the exact circumstances surrounding Liam's death continue as authorities work to determine what happened in the moments before he plunged 45ft to his death suffering catastrophic injuries. Reports have suggested that he was seen acting erratically in the hotel lobby just minutes before he died as he smashed up his laptop and told a fellow guest "I used to be in a boyband. That's why I'm so f**ked up."

There was an array of alcohol and drug paraphernalia found in his room which Police say had been "in complete disarray" with "various items broken". A whiskey bottle, lighter and mobile phone had been retrieved from the internal hotel courtyard where Liam’s body was found.

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