Liam Payne ‘waited several months to step out in public’ with model Maya Henry ‘out of respect’ to his ex Cheryl
Liam Payne has reportedly been seeing Maya Henry for several months and waited a while before going public with her ‘out of respect’ to his ex Cheryl.
The singer, 26, was spotted holding hands with the American model, 19, during an evening stroll in Mayfair on Friday night.
According to The Mirror, Liam waited to step out with Maya until he knew their relationship was serious as he is still good friends with Cheryl, 36.
Going public: Liam Payne, 26, has reportedly been seeing Maya Henry, 19, for several months and waited a while before going public with her ‘out of respect’ to his ex Cheryl, 36
A source said: ‘Liam and Maya have been together for several months now. He is besotted and they get on very well. But he wanted to wait before they started going public.
‘He is close to Cheryl and, out of respect to her, only wanted to go public with a girlfriend when he knew it was right.’
MailOnline has contacted a representative for Liam for further comment.
Liam cut a dapper figure on Friday when he went for a late night stroll with his gorgeous companion who he was first romantically linked to in August 2018.
Ex: According to The Mirror, Liam waited to step out with Maya until he knew their relationship was serious as he is still good friends with Cheryl (pictured in May 2016)
He donned a teal shirt with rolled up sleeves that displayed his array of tattoos and black trousers with matching shoes.
Maya donned a black mini-dress with a red floral print and a deep V-neckline with lace trimming.
She added height to her frame with a pair of thigh-high black boots and wrapped up in a black leather jacket.
Styling her brunette locks into an updo, she completed her look with hoop earrings and a gold cross necklace.
The pair were first linked back in August 2018 shortly after Liam’s high-profile split from Cheryl with whom he shares son Bear, two.
Maya and Liam have known of each other for years, with the pair first being pictured together at a meet-and-greet event when 1D fan Maya was 15.
Style: The single singer cut a dapper figure as he went for a late night stroll with his female companion with the pair looking cosy in each other’s company
Maya is the daughter of Thomas J. Henry – a Texan lawyer who amassed his wealth running his own personal injury firm.
The company is described on its website as ‘one of the biggest plaintiff’s firms in Texas’, with Maya the heiress to the multi-million pound fortune.
The beauty has still been reaping the benefits of her father’s success during her youth – with her Quinceañera, the Spanish coming of age party at 15 years old, costing a whopping £4million.
Maya slipped into two custom designer dresses for the event, which saw her and 400 other guests treated to a six-tier cake and performances by Pitbull and Nick Jonas, in a venue complete with flower walls and a large fountain.
Despite her privileged background, the beauty is driven to succeed on her own – having revealed her desire to be a human rights lawyer ‘like Amal Clooney’ to Business Insider.
Out and about: Liam went for a late night stroll with his female companion with the pair looking cosy in each other’s company
Not only successful in the classroom, with her favourite subject being algebra, the brunette is also interested in fitness, and was a competitive tennis player in her youth.
She even set up her own charity, Maya’s Corner, as a child, which provides school supplies and new education opportunities to underprivileged kids across the US.
However, she is currently putting her career on hold to try her hand at modelling, after garnering a huge 158,000 followers with her sizzling Instagram snaps
Liam visited the latter locations at a similar time in July last year leading to the new ‘couple’s’ first sighting.
Suave: Liam wore his hair cropped for the evening and completed his look with black trousers and black boots
Fashion: His lady friend donned a black mini-dress with a red floral print and a deep V-neckline with lace trimming
The pop star was spotted heading to the Dolce & Gabbana gala dinner in Tremezzo, Lake Como with Maya in July 2018, before they partied together on a yacht in Cannes.
A source told The Sun at the time: ‘Liam and Maya get on well — and she’s a stunning girl
They have kissed a couple of times, but he is in no rush to date again and certainly isn’t ready for a serious relationship.
‘Liam is simply focusing on work at the moment, and above all else obviously his main priority is Bear.’
Throwback: Maya uploaded a snap of her and Liam at a Dolce and Gabbana event in 2018
Liam split from his former flame Cheryl in July 2018 after months of speculation the couple were going their separate ways.
The One Direction star amicably co-parents Bear, two, with Cheryl, who spoke about parenting recently in an interview with Fault magazine.
She said: ‘I think it changes you completely, it’s a 360 – I’m a completely different person.
‘I think as a mother your perspective changes and while I can’t pinpoint what it is specifically, I have become a brand new person.’
Model moment: Maya is the daughter of Thomas J. Henry – a Texan lawyer who amassed his wealth running his own personal injury firm
Although Liam and Cheryl called their romance quits, they have been successfully co-parenting Bear and even spent Christmas Day together.
The singers were rumoured to be spending the holiday ‘as a family’ and Cheryl later confirmed this.
Speaking to The Sun at the time, she said: ‘There’s no animosity whatsoever. In fact, Liam spent Christmas Day with us.
‘He cooked the turkey and everything at our home. His family came on the 23rd, and then he was in the house before I woke up on Christmas Day.’
Outfit: She added height to her frame with a pair of thigh-high black boots and wrapped up in a black leather jacket
Look: Styling her brunette locks into an updo, she completed her look with hoop earrings and a gold cross necklace
Speaking previously to MailOnline about the split, Cheryl admitted she hated the ‘lows’ that come with a break-up.
She said: ‘I hate the lows… I hate the lows. It’s kind of one of the things that makes us not want to get into a relationship. Nothing quite makes you feel like that, does it? Nothing else.
‘And I know you have to take the highs with the lows, so I’m working on being OK with that, but at the moment, I just don’t need it. I don’t want it.
‘There’s no animosity whatsoever. We are learning all the time. And it’s good, it’s healthy.
Romance: Liam split from his former flame Cheryl, who he shares son Bear with, in July 2018 after months of speculation (pictured in February 2018)
‘We’re just like any other couple that have gone through this, but we have a few more eyes watching us… just a few.’
Whilst Cheryl has not been linked to anyone, Liam was said to be dating Naomi Campbell, but it reportedly fizzled out in May.
Speaking of their split, a source told The Mirror at the time: ‘Liam and Naomi had a lot of fun together, they got on well and had a laugh. But it just wasn’t meant to be.’
‘They are going to stay friends – there are no hard feelings with either of them.’
Fling: Whilst Cheryl has not been linked to anyone, Liam was said to be dating Naomi Campbell, but it reportedly fizzled out in May (pictured in March 2019)
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