Liam Payne has opened up about his mental health struggles during his time in One Direction, claiming he “shouldn’t have been able” to go through with their gruelling tour schedule. 

The singer has revealed he often felt like he was “putting on a costume” when he was on stage at the height of the group’s fame. 

Claiming people “weren’t really seeing what was going on”, Liam told The Sun: “I shouldn’t have been able to do as many shows as we did, if I’m honest about it, if I’m brutally honest about it.

“Going out and putting that happy smile on my face and singing the songs, honestly, sometimes it was like putting on one of those costumes, going out there and, underneath the costume, people don’t really see what’s going on.”

Liam also revealed how he once pulled out of a concert citing sickness, but it was because he was actually struggling to cope with his break-up from ex-girlfriend Sophia Smith.  

“I let it get to me that day. I wasn’t in a good place,” he said. “And unfortunately I was going through a rough time and I let it get to me a little bit too much. That was it.

“The more we did, I just don’t think we stopped and celebrated enough how great things were and I think that’s what got on top of us in the end. It was like, ‘Oh, you’ve just won three EMAs, but get on the plane and go to the next place.’”

Liam previously opened up about his lowest moment in the band, revealing how what should have been a low-key night spending time with his mum and dad was ruined by a photographer.

Telling how a “clumsy cameraman” accidentally knocked his mother, Karen, over, he told The Mirror: “I just wanted a burger with my parents. 

“I cried my eyes out. I thought, ‘I can’t do this’ and I really hated my life.” 

Liam is now enjoying success away from One Direction, having launched his solo career with the hit singles ‘Strip That Down’ and ‘Bedroom Floor’. 

He is also busy being a dad to son Bear, who he welcomed with girlfriend Cheryl Tweedy back in March.