One Direction’s Zayn Malik Mourns Liam Payne: “Can’t Explain What I’d Give To Give You A Hug One Last Time & Say Goodbye”

Zayn Malik paid tribute to Liam Payne in an emotional post dedicated to his former One Direction bandmate.

“Liam, I have found myself talking out loud to you, hoping you can hear me, I can’t help but think selfishly that there was so many more conversations for us to have in our lives,” Malik wrote on Instagram. “I never got to thank you for supporting me through some of the most difficult times in my life.”

Malik continued, “When I was missing home as a 17 yr old kid you would always be there with a positive outlook and reassuring smile and let me know you were my friend and that I was loved. Even though you were younger than me you were always more sensible than me, you were headstrong, opinionated, and gave no fucks about telling people when they were wrong.”

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The singer said that he “butted heads” with Payne “a few times” but “always secretly respected [him] for it.” As far as music goes, Malik said Payne was “the most qualified in every sense. I knew nothing in comparison, l was a novice child with no experience and you were already a professional.”

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“I lost a brother when you left us and can’t explain to you what I’d give to just give you a hug one last time and say goodbye to you properly and tell you that I loved and respected you dearly,” he continued. “Will cherish all the memories I have with you in my heart forever, there is no words that justify or explain how I feel right now other than beyond devastated. I hope that wherever you are right now you are good and are at peace and you know how loved you are.”

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Payne died 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.

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