Niall Horan Reflects on Liam Payne’s Tragic Passing
Niall Horan, a former member of One Direction, has opened up about the heartbreaking loss of his bandmate Liam Payne. In October 2024, the world was left in shock when Liam passed away at the age of 31 after falling from a third-floor balcony at Buenos Aires’s CasaSur hotel while under the influence of alcohol, cocaine, and prescribed antidepressants.
Just two weeks before his death, Liam attended one of Niall’s tour shows in the Argentinian capital alongside his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy. The couple shared sweet photos of their reunion, which brought joy to fans around the globe.
During an appearance on the Tommy Tiernan Show, Niall expressed his deep sorrow and questioned what he could have done differently. He said: ‘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. Niall mentioned: ‘I knew he’d had a couple of issues… I knew something was going on, but not how deep it was.’
Niall and Liam rose to fame together on The X Factor in 2010, where they formed One Direction with Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik. The group quickly became a global phenomenon before disbanding in 2016.
When asked about his feelings upon hearing of Liam’s death, Niall described the initial reaction as ‘shock.’ He 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, Niall learned of Liam’s passing after his tour ended. 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.’
Niall admitted that he felt guilt after the news, 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.’
On Liam’s struggles, 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.’
After learning of Liam’s death, Niall turned on the news and saw coverage from Sky News, CNN, BBC, and RTE. He said: ‘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 the father of Bear, who is eight years old, with ex-partner Cheryl. Niall admitted that Bear was on his mind during his grieving process. He said: ‘I keep thinking about his little son too.’
After the news of Liam’s death dominated the global news cycle, Niall worked hard to tune out the surrounding noise in the lead-up to the funeral, which took place in November and was attended by a number of stars, including fellow One Direction members. 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.’
