Harry Styles shared a heartfelt message following the death of his former bandmate Liam Payne.

Liam Payne, best known as a member of the globally popular boyband One Direction, died on October 16, 2024. He passed away in Buenos Aires, Argentina, after falling from the third-floor balcony of the CasaSur hotel. Payne was 31 years old.

His former bandmate, Harry Styles, shared a heartfelt message on Instagram reflecting on his grief after learning of Liam Payne’s death.

”I am truly devastated by Liam’s passing. His greatest joy was making other people happy, and it was an honour to be alongside him as he did it. 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. My heart breaks for Karen, Geoff, Nicola, and Ruth, his son Bear, and all those around the world who knew and loved him, as I did.”

Harry Styles on Liam Payne’s death

Styles recently opened up, in an interview with Apple Music, about the emotional toll of losing Payne.

“Full transparency, it’s like something that I — even the idea of talking about it feel[s] like I struggle with that a little bit, even I think,” Styles said.

“I think there was a period when he passed away where I really struggled with kind of like acknowledging how strange it is to have people kind of like part of your grief in a way,” he added.

Styles said he had “such strong feelings” about Payne’s death, but that there was a “desire from other people” for him to “convey” his emotions publicly.

“It’s so difficult to lose a friend. It’s difficult to lose any friend, but it’s so difficult to lose a friend who is so like you in so many ways.

“It’s like I saw someone with the kindest heart who just wanted to be great.”

His friend’s death forced Styles to take a closer look at his own life. “What do I want to do with my life? Like, how do I want to live my life? And I think the greatest way you can honor your friends who pass away is by living your life to the fullest,” Styles shared.

“Like, super special person and really sad.”