Harry Styles’ First Interview About Liam Payne’s Death

Harry Styles is opening up on the loss of his One Direction bandmate Liam Payne, more than a year after he died.

In his first interview about Liam’s death, Harry sat down with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, admitting, “The idea of talking about it… I struggle with that a little bit. 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 own part of your grief, in a way.”

Styles recalled the pressure of publicly mourning Payne’s death after he fell from his hotel balcony in Buenos Aires in 2024.

He explained, “I have such a strong feelings around my friend passing away and then suddenly being more aware of there’s maybe like a desire from other people of you to convey that in some way or it means you’re not feeling what you’re feeling.”

At the time of Payne's passing, Styles wrote on Instagram, "I am truly devastated by Liam’s passing. His greatest joy was making other people happy, and it was an honor to be alongside him as he did it.”

Harry and Liam were both discovered on “X Factor” with Simon Cowell bringing them together with the creation of “One Direction” in 2010.

The two were bandmates until 2016, the year that the group announced an indefinite hiatus.

Styles noted, “It’s so difficult to lose a friend who is like you in so many ways."

Harry remembered Liam as “someone with, like, the kindest hart, who just wanted to be great.”

Liam’s death at 31 changed Harry’s perspective on life.

He stressed, “It was a really important moment for me, in terms of taking a look at my life and being able to say to myself, like, ‘Okay, like, what do I want to do with my life? Like, how do I want to live my life? And I think the great way you can honor your friends who passed away is by living your life to the fullest.”

Along with calling Liam a “super special person,” Harry admitted that he was “really sad” about the tragedy.