Niall Horan has reflected on his One Direction bandmate Liam Payne’s tragic death.
In October 2024, hearts broke around the world when Liam died aged 31 after falling from a third-floor balcony at Buenos Aires’s CasaSur hotel while under the influence of alcohol, cocaine and prescribed antidepressants.
His untimely death came just two weeks after he attended one of Niall’s tour shows alongside his girlfriend Kate Cassidy in the Argentinian capital and shared sweet snaps of their reunion, much to the delight of Directioners around the world.
Speaking on the Tommy Tiernan Show, Niall mused over whether he could have helped: ‘You start asking yourself: What could I have done? Should I have looked into things more? Should I have spoken to other people? You go through all of that.’
He added that he still ‘hasn’t fully processed’ his friend’s death, which was partially attributed to his substance abuse issues, as Niall added: ‘I knew he’d had a couple of issues… I knew something was going on, but not how deep it was.’
Niall Horan has reflected on his One Direction bandmate Liam Payne’s tragic death
Liam and Niall are pictured together during their last meeting, after the former attended the latter’s tour show in Buenos Aires, just weeks before falling to his death in the city
Niall and Liam soared to fame on The X Factor in 2010 alongside Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik, when One Direction was formed by Simon Cowell and shot to worldwide fame before disbanding in 2016.
When Tommy offered his condolences and asked Niall how he felt when the death was announced, he said: ‘Shock was definitely the first thing.’
Niall then recalled their final meeting, saying: ‘I’d been playing a gig in Buenos Aires about two weeks earlier, and he happened to be there. We met, had a chat…
‘Then he came back to my hotel during the day for a coffee. Then he came to the gig that night and was in the dressing room beforehand. It was great to see him.’
Following their meeting, the heartbroken star then learnt of his friend’s passing when his tour had concluded – leaving him in ‘pure shock’.
He said: ‘The tour ended—I finished in Colombia—and about a week later I went home after a long stretch on the road…
‘I’d only just gotten back when, one night, I was about to go to sleep. I glanced at my phone after getting a text… and that’s when I found out…
‘It was pure shock. I knew he’d had a couple of issues, but I hadn’t been around him as much in recent years, so I didn’t realise the extent of it. I knew something was going on, but not how deep it was.’
Niall admitted he then started to feel guilt, saying: ‘Then your mind starts going through everything—the “how” and “why.” The stages of grief… I don’t think I’ve even begun to process them properly yet. I grew up with him, and suddenly he’s just gone.
Niall and Liam soared to fame on The X Factor in 2010 alongside Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik, when One Direction was formed by Simon Cowell and shot to worldwide fame before disbanding in 2016 (Pictured: Harry Styles, Niall, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Liam in 2010)
When Tommy offered his condolences and asked Niall how he felt when the death was announced, he said: ‘Shock was definitely the first thing’
‘You start asking yourself: “What could I have done? Should I have looked into things more? Should I have spoken to other people?” You go through all of that. I’d seen him just a couple of weeks earlier, and now… it’s hard to take in.’
On Liam’s demons, he said: ‘Sometimes, when someone self-destructs, you can look back and recognise patterns. That’s maybe why the shock was so intense—even if, in some way, the surprise wasn’t quite as big…
‘Still, nothing prepares you for looking down at your phone and finding out like that. Then, stupidly, I turned on the news — Sky News, CNN, BBC, RTE — and suddenly the whole world was talking about it. It was the biggest story everywhere…
‘I even saw myself in pictures with him on the news. That felt very strange — seeing those images while trying to process everything…
‘I don’t think I’ve fully got my head around it at all. I’ve known him since I was 16. We even shared a room at one stage during The X Factor. Now he’s 32… and gone.’
Liam is father to son Bear, eight, with ex Cheryl, and Niall admitted Bear was at the forefront of his mind while tackling grief: ‘I keep thinking about his little son too.’
After news of his death consumed the global news cycle, Niall admitted he worked hard to tune out surrounding noise in the lead-up to the funeral, which took place in November and was attended by a slew of stars, including 1D members.
After news of his death consumed the global news cycle, Niall admitted he worked hard to tune out surrounding noise in the lead-up to the funeral, which took place in November and was attended by a slew of stars, including 1D members (Harry Styles and Niall pictured at the funeral)
He said: ‘After I made the mistake of turning [the news] on that first time, I decided I couldn’t keep watching. At first it was fans, people we’d worked with, interviews —things like that…
‘But I just thought, I can’t do this. I’ve got a funeral to go to. I have my own grief to deal with. I can’t be worrying about what people are going to say next…
‘All of that noise became irrelevant to me. I want to hold on to my own memories of him, rather than focus on the negativity…
‘I think it’s because I haven’t fully processed it yet. It’s a strange thing — to be in your thirties and realise that someone just a couple of weeks older than you can be here one day and gone the next.’
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