One Direction hottie Liam Payne has opened up on the breakup with long-time girlfriend Sophia Smith as he said that he was "devastated" by how that turned out.

Liam Payne talked to The Sun, as shared by Daily Mail, as she said that he was "absolutely devastated to have split with Sophia."

"Being on the tour all this year and being away from her was so hard," he said. "We spent so much time apart. But in order to do right by somebody sometimes it's better not to do what your heart wants, but to do what's better for them."

"Right now I'm looking forward to some alone time to figure out who I am and what I want to be," he added.

This year signals a lot of changes for Liam Payne after the announcement that One Direction is taking a break for about a year.

One Direction member Liam Payne and long-time girlfriend Sophia Smith were rumored to be engaged last year after they were snapped stepping out of Tiffany & Co. store in New York City on Dec. 19.

The breakup came on the heels of the interview by Liam Payne where he gushed about then girlfriend Sophia Smith.

"We have talked about marriage, but 22 seems a bit young for us," he said in an interview with Attitude magazine. "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."

"Sophia has to live her own life. She can't just see me do what I do and follow me around. She has to be successful in her own right and do her things. And I know she will," he said.

Sophia Smith has yet to issue a statement on the breakup with Liam Payne.