‘I’m devastated’: Liam admits he wasn’t ready to end his relationship

After two years together, Liam Payne and Sophia Smith confirmed their split last week, but it seems it might not have been a mutual decision.

In a new interview, Liam admits the break-up was extremely tough on him, but it was what Sophia wanted.

"I'm absolutely devastated," he admitted to The Sun.

Despite being just months away from an indefinite hiatus from One Direction, inevitably it was Liam's work commitments that caused things to go sour.

"Being on the tour all this year and being away from her was so hard. We spent so much time apart.

"But in order to do right by somebody sometimes it's better not to do what your heart wants, but to do what's better for them."

Of all the One Direction lads, Liam has always seemed the most committed to his long-term relationship, often taking to social media over the last two years to tell Sophia (and his millions of followers) how much he missed her.

One Direction have spent the majority of 2015 on their On The Run tour, with a non-stop schedule of 80 performances across Asia, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, America and Europe.

With a long period of free time ahead of him in 2016, the singer says he's looking forward to leading a normal life for a while.

"Right now I'm looking forward to some alone time to figure out who I am and what I want to be."

It's thought the foursome will perform at the Royal Variety Show at the end of this year to celebrate the release of their album Made In the AM, with another possible gig at The Brits in February before calling things a day.