View gallery
Liam Payne‘s new girlfriend Aliana Mawla is soaking up the sun amid a scandal that left Liam’s former fiancé, model Maya Henry, 22, seemingly heartbroken. Aliana was seen in Miami on May 31, slaying in a red two-piece swimsuit with criss-cross straps across the midsection. She laughed and talked on her cell phone while wading in the Florida waters. Aliana’s long, wavy beach-hair caught the breeze, creating carefree images of the Instagram influencer. She accessorized with sharp black sunglasses and an on-point manicure.
Aliana, 24, shocked the internet when she posted a pic of herself entwined in Liam’s arms to her Instagram account on May 23. Maya, still presumed to be his fiancée at the time, responded with disheartened comments, saying, “I love all of the fans so much but please stop sending me these pictures of my fiancé wrapped around another woman. This is not me and it’s hard enough knowing this has happened without seeing it. Enough now.” The model deleted the comment, which can still be seen via screenshot here.
Liam’s camp claims he and Maya had already called off their engagement a month before Aliana’s provocative pics. A source close to the One Direction hottie, 28, told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY in May that the singer didn’t think the public backlash to his abruptly revealed new romance was “fair.” “Liam told friends that he and Maya broke up a while ago, so it’s really not fair that he’s being made to look like a cheater,” the source told us. “He’s a sensitive guy so of course this is upsetting but at the end of the day the people in his life know that truth and know his heart is good.”
Liam seems to have bounced back from the frustration quickly, as he and Aliana were seen together at Heathrow Airport on May 24. Aliana herself was also reportedly “taken aback” by the reaction to her relationship with Liam. “Aliana is very taken back by the accusations that have been made regarding a relationship with Liam while he was still engaged or involved with ex-fiancée,” a spokesperson for the model told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY.
“Under no circumstances would Aliana have involved herself in a public relationship as such if there was any truth to the comments that have been made. She is very protective of her personal life, and has nothing more to say at the moment other than she is very happy and does not wish to discuss this situation moving forward.”