Liam Payne ‘met new girlfriend Maya Henry for the first time backstage at a One Direction gig’

Liam Payne reportedly first met rumoured new girlfriend Maya Henry backstage at a One Direction show with his bandmates in 2015.

The Strip That Down singer, who split from long-term girlfriend Cheryl earlier this year, can be seen posing alongside Henry at a meet and greet when she was 15.

According to The Sun, the 24-year-old pop sensation and 18-year-old Instagram star enjoyed a secret date at London’s Bulgari hotel last week.

Payne reportedly met Henry at the Dolce and Gabbanna gala in Tremezzo in Italy.

The publication added that Payne did not recall meeting her in the years prior.

They then supposedly went on to party together at a luxury yacht party in Cannes weeks later.

The speculation comes just months after Payne called time on his two-year relationship with Cheryl.

The former Girls Aloud singer broke the news on Twitter saying calling time on their two-and-a-half years together was a "tough decision".

She tweeted: "We are sad to announce that we are going our separate ways. It's been a tough decision for us to make. We still have so much love for each other as a family."

Cheryl asked for fans to respect the privacy of their one-year-old son Bear who they welcomed last March.

She finished: "Bear is our world and we ask that you respect his privacy as we navigate our way through this together."

Cheryl has since spoken out admitting that the statement was “cringeworthy” after she was mocked by Piers Morgan, adding that the relationship simply “didn’t work out.”