In a new interview to promote her new book 'Looking Forward', the social media content creator reveals that she had a medical abortion which seemingly took place when she was dating the singer.
- May 16, 2024
AceShowbiz - Liam Payne's former fiancee Maya Henry got candid about her traumatic moments in her life. In a new interview to promote her new book "Looking Forward", she revealed that she had a medical abortion which seemingly took place when she was dating the singer.
In the book, which Maya describes as fictional but "definitely inspired" by real-life events from her own life, main character Mallory suffers severe complications following an abortion with her charming boyfriend, Oliver. "What I went through in real life is very similar to what Mallory went through in the book," Maya told PEOPLE.
The 23-year-old added, "I definitely did have some complications [following my abortion], and I did have to go to the hospital alone." Maya, however, didn't detail when she had the actual abortion and who impregnated her at the time.
In the book, Mallory is said to go through an abortion when she was dating Oliver, who is a British pop star who became popular after being paired with a group on a TV show. The character may take inspiration from Liam, who also rose to stardom with One Direction, which was formed on "The X Factor".
After finding out about her pregnancy, Oliver gives Mallory an ultimatum. He gave her two options, having the baby as a single woman or abort the pregnancy to stay with him. In her interview, Maya admitted that she regretted choosing to terminate her pregnancy.
"If it were up to me, I wouldn't have done it. But then also, if I were to have made a different decision, then I would've lost the person that I loved," she explained. "There were definitely difficult conversations about it. But looking back now, things happen for a reason."
PEOPLE claimed that Maya called her friends amid the aftermath of the abortion as the ordeal was both "physically and mentally" draining for her. A source close to the author told the publication, "It broke my heart seeing her like that when she's usually always so happy and positive. That was hands down the lowest point of her life, and it didn't have to be that way."
Of the main character Mallory, Maya said, "Mallory is very similar to me, and that's why it was very easy for me to write her character and put the emotion in there. I'm just grateful that I have this opportunity and platform to really help be a voice for women."
"Looking Forward" also sees Oliver getting abusive when he's mad, including shattering a light fixture, sending shards of glass into Mallory's arm. "I drew inspiration [from my real life], and I wanted to include a scene like that in the book because while not everyone dates a pop star, I feel like everyone dates someone like Oliver," Maya noted. "I feel like it was just important for women to be seen in that way, and can relate and not feel like they're alone in whatever they're going through."
"There's other things I won't speak about that were too much for someone to deal with," she further divulged. "I think at that point I'd grown so much that I was like, 'I don't deserve this.' It just got to the point where I just couldn't handle those types of things anymore. I feel like when you're disrespected so much, you're just done. You've had enough."
Maya and Liam got engaged in 2020 before they called it quits in June 2021. The two rekindled their romance months later only to break up for good in April 2022.
