A Look Back At Naomi Campbell's Brief Fling With Liam Payne

Liam Payne tragically passed away at the age of 31 in Buenos Aires after falling from the third floor balcony of his hotel. But there is some solace in knowing that the former One Direction singer lived quite the life, with one chapter involving a whirlwind romance with legendary model, Naomi Campbell, age 54. In 2019, about six months after Payne split from Cheryl Cole, the two enjoyed four months together until Campbell lost interest in the singer. The 23-year age gap fling began on Instagram, when the two unofficially met by engaging in the art of social media flirtation, liking and commenting on each other's posts.

Payne commented on a stunning selfie of Campbell, saying (via Daily Mail), "perfection in a person." Campbell later returned the favor on a photo of Payne by calling him a "beautiful soul." The complimentary comments led to a real life romance, with the two spotted together at London's O2 Arena, where they watched Nigerian artist Davido perform while in a private suite.

Over the course of those four months, the short-lived British power couple was quick to downplay speculation about their status on the record. When asked on "The Jonathan Ross Show" about a source of The Sun, who shared, "Liam thinks she's amazing and beautiful, and has said their intimate time together has been mind-blowing," Naomi Campbell said (via Daily Mail) that she found the rumors "humorous." When pressed by Ross about her and Liam Payne, Campbell responded with a smile and said, "I never discuss my personal life. I mean, it's crazy it's like one day it's one person, the next day it's another. Who is tomorrow?"

Payne was also grilled about his relationship with Campbell in December 2019 on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen." When asked about Campbell on a segment titled "Plead The Fifth", Payne used the titular excuse to "plead the fifth," neither confirming or denying whether he actually dated Campbell. He gave a similar winking non-answer on Ant Middleton's survival series "Straight Talking," where the former UK Special Forces soldier used his training to try and get Payne to talk. But even military tactics couldn't get a straight answer out of Payne, as he jokingly responded to the allegations of dating Campbell by laughing and saying (via Metro), "She was just a friend." When Middleton said that he didn't believe him, Payne gave an answer that we will all have to live with: "You believe what you want — I'm not saying anything!"