From the moment One Direction was formed, Liam Payne found himself with four additional brothers for life.
Thanks to the creative minds of The X Factor UK judges Simon Cowell, Nicole Scherzinger and Louis Walsh, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Payne came together in 2010 to create a life-changing boy band.
Before Payne fell to his death in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, October 16, the 31-year-old singer shared a special bond with his bandmates that lasted long after their indefinite hiatus kicked off in late 2015.
“I did speak to Harry and it was really lovely,” Payne shared in a June 2021 Instagram Live. “I spoke to him and it was a really lovely catch-up actually. And I’ve got a lot of love for the man. He’s great, he’s really, really great.”
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In May 2022, however, Payne made headlines when he appeared on the “Impaulsive” podcast with host Logan Paul and seemingly threw shade at his bandmates by claiming his 2017 debut solo single, “Strip That Down,” “outsold everybody within the band.” He also said there were “many reasons why I dislike Zayn.”
One month later, Payne clarified in a post via X that he “didn’t articulate myself as well as I could have.”
“I was saying that there will always be things we disagree on but that I will always, always be on his side,” he added. “That’s family. Zayn is my brother and I will stand by him forever.”
There didn’t appear to be any hard feelings between Payne and Tomlinson, 32, following the podcast. At the March 2023 London premiere of Tomlinson’s documentary All of Those Voices, Payne praised his friend for all of his accomplishments on and off stage.
“Seeing the world through your eyes last night was the most beautiful thing to experience,” he wrote via Instagram. “My neck hurts from how much I’m looking up to you right now. You were already my friend and brother but getting to look through that window into your world and mind just extends that respect I have for you.”
“I’m so thankful to have you in my life mate,” Payne continued. “I feel so lucky and I know you know this but you were part of a small group of people that literally saved my life, you dragged me out of something so dark I’ve never shared it, but your approach is something I admire and aspire to so I can one day do the same.”
Tomlinson expressed his appreciation for Payne’s attendance by writing via X, “It means the absolute world. Love you lad!”
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In July 2023, Payne posted a candid YouTube video detailing his forever bond with the rest of One Direction. In the clip, the singer expressed gratitude to his bandmates for helping him through a difficult time in his life — even after he said some not-so-beautiful things.
“The rest of the boys really stuck by me when I needed them most, they kinda came to the rescue,” he said. “Even Zayn, as well, which is why I did send him a little thank you online. … A lot of what I said came from the wrong place. I was so angry at what was going on around me and instead of taking a look inwards I decided to look outwards at everybody else and I just think I took it out on everybody else, which is just wrong, really.”
Before his death, Payne was spotted at several of his former bandmates’ concerts, including Tomlinson’s Buenos Aires show in April and Horan’s The Show tour on October 2.
