Liam Payne is "absolutely devastated" he has split from his longtime girlfriend Sophia Smith.

Liam Payne and Sophia Smith

Liam Payne and Sophia Smith

The One Direction star is distraught his relationship with the beauty, 21, came crumbling down and is convinced his globe-trotting career was the driving force in their break-up.

Speaking to The Sun newspaper, he said: "I'm absolutely devastated to have split with Sophia.

"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."

The talented hunk, 22, may be flying solo now but he is adamant he doesn't want to get himself into another relationship any time soon as he wants to focus on himself.

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

Liam is now aiming his attention towards making a plan for when the band - also consisting of Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles - go on a hiatus next year.

He explained: "I'm starting to think about next year when we take a break from the band for a while. I'm going into music publishing, collaborating and writing songs for other artists."

And, although the 'Little Things' hitmakers, who formed five years ago, are keen to carve out their own paths for a little while, Liam is adamant he'll work with bandmate Louis, 23.

He said: "I still want to work with Louis as he is going into the label side of things, so the two match up perfectly. Hopefully we can develop some great artists together."

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