Liam Payne and Sophia Smith split

Liam Payne has split from his girlfriend Sophia Smith. The One Direction singer and his long-term love have called time on their romance with a source close to Liam revealing he is "incredibly sad" about the break-up. The insider told MailOnline: "Liam and Sophia have split. "Liam is incredibly sad, but is going to keep busy. He really hopes that everybody will respect both his and Sophia's privacy and stop speculating." And a source close to Liam told The Sun: "Liam and Sophia have had fights before and got back together, so hopefully this is one of those times. "They are a great couple but sometimes they find their lifestyles - with him flying around the world as a pop star and her at university in Birmingham - don't always match up." Liam, 22, appeared to hint at heartbreak on his Twitter account, writing: "I love how music is always there for you when you need it most x." News of the split comes just days after One Direction were forced to cancel a concert for the first time in their five-year career. While it was announced that Liam was ill, it has been claimed that he had a "complete meltdown" and suffered panic attack-like symptoms causing the boy band to axe the gig at the last minute in Belfast on Tuesday night (20.10.15). A source told The Sun newspaper: "The pressures of fame and being on the road for two years have made Liam ill. "He was devastated about letting everyone down, especially the fans, but he wasn't physically able to get on stage. He had a complete meltdown." Meanwhile, Liam's split from Sophia, 21, comes as a shock as just last month he admitted they had discussed marriage. He said: "We have talked about marriage, but 22 seems a bit young for us. "Sophia needs to go off and do what she wants to do. I don't want her to be one of those stay-at-home girlfriends who doesn't really do much."