Payne was part of the much-loved boyband, along with Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik.
He first tried for stardom when he auditioned for ITV talent show The X Factor in 2008 – but judge Simon Cowell told him to “come back in two years”.
He did, impressing the judges more in 2010, and was put together with four other solo hopefuls at the boot camp stage and One Direction were born.
They group had four UK number one albums and four number ones singles as well as topping charts around the world, before announcing they were going on a hiatus in 2015.
In 2017, Payne’s debut solo single Strip That Down which peaked at number three on the Official UK Chart, and his collaboration with Rita Ora on the song For You – from the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack – also reached the top 10.
He married Girls Aloud star Cheryl Cole in 2016 and they had a son, Bear, the following year. The couple split in 2018.
In recent weeks, claims had circulated on social media about his behaviour towards other former partners, with one reported on Tuesday to have taken legal action to stop him contacting her friends and family.
