Niall Horan has opened up about the moment he learned of Liam Payne’s death.
The Irish singer has reflected on the moment he learned of his former One Direction bandmate’s sudden death in October 2024.
Liam died aged 31 on 16 October in Buenos Aires, Argentina, roughly two weeks after attending Niall’s concert in the city.
In a new interview with GQ, Niall recalled their final reunion, describing it as a “great” catch-up. He noted that Liam “seemed in good form and we had a good laugh, good reminisce”.
However, just weeks later, he received a message informing him that Liam had died after falling from a third-floor hotel balcony.
“I just remember getting a message, and I was just like, What?… I just didn’t think it was real,” Niall said. “Someone so young, you’re not expecting to hear that they’ve passed, especially someone that you’ve just seen.”
He added, “I just went back from shock to sadness to anger.”
The Slow Hands hitmaker went on to describe how, in the immediate aftermath, he was confronted with memories of their time together, saying he saw “lots of photos and videos and things of us growing up together”.
He continued, “And being nostalgic about it straight away, along with fear and sadness and all the stuff that comes with grief.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Niall recalled sharing a room with Liam during their time on The X Factor, before they were put together to form One Direction.
“I just got to know him a little bit and then we ended up doing what we did together,” the singer stated. “Memories that only he and I can share ’cause you have a team and you have people around all the time, but we always said that only us have that experience, no one else has that.”
One Direction, which also includes Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik, formed on The X Factor in 2010 before going on an indefinite hiatus in 2016.
