Niall Horan says Liam Payne’s death ‘doesn’t feel real’

Liam Payne’s former One Direction bandmate Niall Horan has said he is “absolutely devastated” by the “passing of his amazing friend”.

Payne died on Wednesday evening in Buenos Aires and had flown in to Argentina to see Horan perform on tour.

“It just doesn’t feel real,” Horan wrote.

“I feel so fortunate that I got to see him recently. I sadly didn’t know that after saying goodbye and hugging him that evening, I would be saying goodbye forever. It’s heartbreaking.”

Payne, 31, fell from the balcony of the third-floor hotel room where he had been staying.

His father has arrived in the Argentine capital. A family member needs to identify his body before it can be released and repatriated to the UK.

It is not yet clear when that will happen.

Horan’s statement, posted on Instagram, said: “Liam had an energy for life and a passion for work that was infectious. He was the brightest in every room and always made everyone feel happy and secure.

“All the laughs we had over the years, sometimes about the simplest of things, keep coming to mind through the sadness. We got to live out our wildest dreams together and I will cherish every moment we had forever. The bond and friendship we had doesn’t happen often in a lifetime.”

Horan, 31, also sent his “love and condolences” to Payne’s family.

“Thank you for everything, Payno,” he signed off.

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The pair had remained friendly since One Direction’s 2016 split, with Payne explaining to fans on Snapchat earlier this month that he was visiting Horan for a catch-up.

He said: “It’s been a while since me and Niall have spoken, we’ve got a lot to talk about.

“No bad vibes or anything like that, but we need to talk,” he added.

Payne attended Horan’s concert last week, again posting social media videos of himself and girlfriend Kate Cassidy singing and dancing to the performance.

Horan finished his world tour on 9 October in Bogota, Colombia, and reportedly then returned to his home in London.

He was the final member of One Direction to post an individual statement on the passing of 31-year-old Payne.

The band, which got together in 2010 on The X Factor, posted a joint statement on Thursday, in which they said they needed time “to grieve and process the loss of our brother”.

Harry Styles said in his individual statement that his “heart breaks” for Payne’s family and added: “His greatest joy was making other people happy, and it was an honour to be alongside him as he did it.”

Louis Tomlinson echoed Styles’ sentiments, describing Liam as “the most vital part of One Direction” who had a “gift for writing”.

Zayn Malik spoke to Payne directly in his statement, praising him for his “positive outlook and reassuring smile”.

Ed Sheeran, who co-wrote Payne’s 2017 debut solo single Strip That Down, also reacted to the news on Instagram on Friday, saying he was “at a loss for words”.

“My thoughts are with his family and loved ones, every memory I have with him is a great one, just such a heartbreaking situation.”

Sheeran finished his post by asking fans to “be kind”, a sentiment echoed by Robbie Williams.

Williams, who performed with One Direction on The X Factor in 2010, said he had previously reached out to offer help to Payne because his “trials and tribulations were very similar to mine”.

“What a handsome talented boy,” he wrote. “What a tragic painful loss for his friends, family, fans and by the looks of the energy this moment has created – the world.”

He wrote: “We don’t know whats going on in people’s lives.

“What pain they’re going through and what makes them behave in the way that they behave.

“Before we reach to judgement, a bit of slack needs to be given.”

He added: “We can at least try to be more compassionate towards ourselves, our family, our friends, strangers in life and strangers on the internet.

“Even famous strangers need your compassion.”

Payne spoke candidly in recent years about his struggles with alcohol and the toll fame took on his mental health.