Liam Payne: Branching out is inevitable

Liam Payne believes it is definitely beneficial "to start branching out" professionally.

The 22-year-old and his band One Direction broke hearts when they confirmed their group is taking a break in March 2016.

Rumours are rife One Direction member Niall Horan is looking to kick off a rock career and Liam supports the idea of everyone doing their own thing, although he emphasises there is no way they are breaking up.

"It's been five years and it's time to take a well-earned break," he told Attitude magazine. "Of course we'll work together again; we're not splitting up. We're just having some time out.

"I realise now is the time to start branching out and exploring. This won't last forever and there will be a point when we will break off and do our own things, but it's something that comes back around and we will work together again.

"I want to target every part of the industry. I have written country songs. I started out doing rap songs. That's where my mind is set."

Liam also noted his bandmate Louis Tomlinson is "very happy about becoming a dad", with news he is expecting a child with Los Angeles based stylist Briana Jungwirth breaking in July.

But there are certain bits of gossip that upset Liam, especially the hearsay claiming he is either a homophobe or a closet homosexual.

"You can't live in the past, you have to move with the times. A lot of my friends are gay and I don't think anything about it. My mates are my mates, regardless of their sexuality," he emphasised, noting there is no way there is a secret love affair going on between him and Louis. "It becomes like a conspiracy or like a cult, the people who watch them and think that every move they make is a gesture toward them being together, and I know it's just not true and it makes me mad."