Liam Payne confirms his relationship with 19-year-old model, Maya Henry

They might have been dating in secret since August 2018 but, the pair have now gone public with their relationship.

Over the weekend, 26-year-old former One Direction star, Liam Payne, made his relationship with Maya Henry public by stepping out hand-in-hand with the model. While strolling through Mayfair on Friday night, it is believed the pair wanted to wait a year before making their relationship known out of respect to Liam's ex, Cheryl. According to The Mirror, Liam and Cheryl are still good friends, co-parenting their two-year-old son, Bear and so, Liam didn't want to move too soon incase it'd upset his former partner. A source said:

"Liam and Maya have been together for several months now. He is besotted and they get on very well. But he wanted to wait before they started going public.

"He is close to Cheryl and, out of respect to her, only wanted to go public with a girlfriend when he knew it was right."

Liam and Maya have reportedly known each other for years, with the pair first meeting at a 1D meet and greet when Maya was 15-years-old. Maya is also set to own a multi-million dollar fortune, as her father is a Texan laywer, running one of the "biggest plaintiff's firms in Texas" reports the Daily Mail.