For You - Liam Payne and Rita Ora's relationship
This year's MTV EMAs was held in Manchester, and hosted by Rita Ora, who gave a speech. Rita says that they (probably her and MTV) were thinking about ways to honor Liam, and decided that sometimes just 'speaking' works.
@mtv @Rita Ora remembers her friend, Liam Payne ❤️ #MTVEMAs
♬ original sound - MTV
We all know Liam and Rita did a duet for the the last Fifty Shades of Grey movie, Fifty Shades Freed in 2018. It's actually my favorite Liam Payne song, but I had forgotten he was singing in it. I can still remember the song booming inside a very empty Venus Fort (in Odaiba, Tokyo) just before COVID hit on a weekend in early Feb 2020 during the evening. My then colleague and I were having a buffet at the Portofino Mediterranean food buffet, and I recall hearing the song while having the seat to myself for one moment and really liking the part especially where the male vocal kicks in. That's Liam! I think it's the best song in the Fifty Shades of Grey series - we heard Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding a lot in early 2015 (almost ten years now!), and Zayn and Taylor Swift's duet is meh to me.
In Maya Henry's book Looking Forward, she is tasked with her first official girlfriend duty by Oliver/Liam's manager, Gerry/Steve Finan O'Connor, during Liam and Maya's reunion at Coachella 2019.
I glance around, wondering where Oliver (Liam Payne) might be. “Oliver had to take off,” he (manager Steve Finan O'Connor) says, as though reading my thoughts. “Oh,” I say. “I wasn’t asking . . . it’s none of my business. I didn’t even know he was here—” “But here’s the thing, Mallory (Maya Henry),” he interrupts. “He’s got his album coming out, and you know he’s doing this duet with Julissa Reed (Rita Ora) for a movie, and she’s having a promotional event, you know, mainly for industry people, press and so forth, and they’re going to do the song, then he’s going to do one of his own, y’know, to build up excitement...
Maya is asked to support Liam during a private event for the press and industry people, as Liam's management have figured out Maya will be in London for a modelling shoot. Maya wonders how they know..
“It’s what I do, sweetie,” he (manager Steve) says, answering before I’ve even asked. “It’s my job, knowing what’s going on. And taking care of my client. And between you and me, Oliver (Liam)’s had a rough couple of months, worried about the album, insecure . . . artists, you know how it goes. And the thing is, Mallory, he speaks really highly of you. This is an intimate affair, with much attention placed on him, so he will be especially unnerved. So if you could be there, it would offer comfort, I’m sure. It would mean a lot.” I look at him. “He wanted me to ask you, darling, okay? I’m asking on Oliver’s behalf.” Gerry (manager Steve) stares at me, expectant. “I’ll think about it,” I say. “Great,” says Gerry. “I’ll put you on the list.”
On the day, Maya's brother Thomas Junior crashes the event and we see Liam feeling nervous and uncomfortable on stage.
The first chords ring out, and I see how uncomfortable he (Liam) is. “I really hope you like it.” That’s when his eyes flicker upward, and . . . he spots me. I’m not sure how it happens—we aren’t the only private room with a packed balcony—but he does. His pauses for a second and stares at me. Next to me, Junior (Maya's brother) chuckles. “Every time you guys see each other, the same thing,” he laughs, but I don’t even respond. I’m too distracted by Oliver’s gaze locking on my own. I watch all the worry fall from his face, his eyes lighting up. He smiles at me. “Yup,” says Junior, and I elbow him. I feel other eyes on me too. People from the balconies, from the floor below. People looking upward, wondering who Oliver Smith is focused on. All those people, looking right at . . . me. The intro music kicks into gear. Oliver opens his mouth, “I give you me (Skin to skin),” he sings, gaze never leaving mine. “I give you . . . (Breath me in…)”
Although this event seems to have cemented Liam and Maya as boyfriend/girlfriend, Liam showed a lot of chemistry with Rita Ora when they performed the song at a VMAs preshow in New York, late Aug 2018. Some media outlets described the two as "grinding up against each other."
The song was released 5 Jan 2018, with performances by Liam and Rita on the Jimmy Fallon show in late Jan, and at the Brit Award 2018 in Feb that year, so not sure how it chronologically flows in Maya's book when they met and connected for the first time at least in Jul 2018. At the same time, Liam did not do another movie collaboration until 2021 (with a movie I have never heard of) called Ron's Gone Wrong.
We see Rita checking out and commenting Liam's YouTube series in 2020..
Finally, a blind item. For those who don't know, it's a gossip piece but with the names undisclosed. This is from my favorite blind items podcast, Behind the Blinds - Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne - The Story of their Blinds from earlier this year (Jan 2024), talking about a blind from 2018:
After our favorite foreign born, B-plus list actress slash singer (Rita Ora) was busted having sex with this former boy bander (Liam Payne), he had to make a certain promise to a significant other (Cheryl) in order to see the B-plus lister (Rita Ora) again. This, of course, despite the fact that his significant other (Cheryl) has been seen with someone else on the side too.
So it looks like Liam and Rita had a fling while still 'officially' in a relationship with Cheryl, but it never turned into a relationship, per se. It's not only Rita too as the 2018 blinds follow with one relationship featuring Kourtney Kardashian, and in 2019, Naomi Campbell although SHE denies this vehemently (not surprising). I think Liam was hooking up with all these female celebrities as he transitioned from Cheryl to Maya, and this private event scene in the book is when things become 'official.'