Niall Horan Mourns One Direction Bandmate Liam Payne: “It Just Doesn’t Feel Real”

One Direction‘s Niall Horan has grieved the loss of his former bandmate Liam Payne in a heartfelt post on Instagram.

“I’m absolutely devastated about the passing of my amazing friend, Liam. It just doesn’t feel real,” wrote Horan. “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.”

Horan continued: “All the laughs we had over the years, sometimes about the simplest 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.”

The 1D alum considers himself as “fortunate” that he got to see Payne recently. “I sadly didn’t know that after saying goodbye and hugging him that evening, I would be saying goodbye forever. It’s heartbreaking,” he added.

Horan sent his love and condolences to Payne’s family and his son Bear before ending his statement with “Thank you for everything, Payno. Love you brother. Nialler.”

Payne died at age 31 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, after falling off a balcony from a hotel’s third floor. According to a preliminary autopsy report by the local Public Prosecutor’s Office, Payne died of “multiple trauma” and “internal and external hemorrhage” as the result of the fall.

The prosecutor’s office said as a matter of protocol, the incident is being investigated as a “doubtful death,” even though it seems that the musician was alone when the fall occurred.

Born August 29, 1993 in Wolverhampton, England, Payne first auditioned for The X Factor at age 14 in 2008, singing Frank Sinatra’s ‘Fly Me to the Moon’. Although he was cut, Cowell encouraged him to come back two years later. In 2010, Payne returned to the competition series and was grouped with Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik to form One Direction. Following their time on the show, the group was signed to Simon Cowell‘s Syco Entertainment.

From 2010 to 2016, the group released five albums and became a global sensation, winning seven Brit Awards and selling more than 70 million albums worldwide.

After the group went their separate ways, Payne released his lone solo album LP1 in 2019.