is paying tribute to former One Direction bandmate following his death at age 31.
“I am truly devastated by Liam’s passing,” Styles, 30, wrote via Instagram on Thursday, October 17, alongside a photo of Payne performing in front of a large crowd. “His greatest joy was making other people happy, and it was an honour to be alongside him as he did it.”
He continued, “Liam lived wide open, with his heart on his sleeve, he had an energy for life that was infectious. He was warm, supportive, and incredibly loving. The years we spent together will forever remain among the most cherished years of my life. I will miss him always, my lovely friend.”
Styles concluded the post by sharing that his “heart breaks” for “Karen, Geoff, Nicola and Rush, his son Bear, and all those around the world who knew and loved him, as I did.”
For the caption, Styles simply put, “🖤.”
Us Weekly confirmed that Payne died after a fall from the balcony of his hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A preliminary autopsy later revealed that Payne died from “internal and external” hemorrhages but presumably not a result of any third party. The report also noted that Payne “may have fallen in a state of semi or total unconsciousness.”
Following the news, the remaining members of One Direction released a joint statement mourning Payne.
“We’re completely devastated by the news of Liam’s passing. In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say,” Styles, and said on Thursday, October 17. “But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly. The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever. For now, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and the fans who loved him alongside us. We will miss him terribly. We love you Liam.”
The statement was signed, “Louis, Zayn, Niall and Harry.”
One Direction was formed on the U.K.’s version of The X Factor in 2010, where they finished in third place. The boy band went on to release four albums as a fivesome before Malik, 31, announced his departure from the group in 2015. The other four members released one more album before their indefinite hiatus officially started in 2016.
In the years following their split, Payne gushed over his friendship with Styles. “We’ve all had our success in completely different areas, and also musically, we didn’t really go down the same route. I think Harry’s done amazing,” Payne said during an appearance on the “Diary of a CEO” podcast in June 2021. “I mean, first album he had the one song off which is really really well and then [on] his second album, he found himself.”
After Styles took home multiple Grammy Awards in 2023, Payne praised his former band member. “Wow … this image is really something to wake up to and when you write music like you do Harry you deserve every millisecond of that moment looking down smiling at the trophy you’ve earned,” he wrote via Instagram. “God bless you brother congratulations.”
