Niall Horan reacts to Liam Payne’s death in touching post: ‘The brightest in every room’
Niall Horan has joined his fellow One Direction members in paying tribute to friend and former bandmate Liam Payne following his death on Oct. 16.
Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik released a joint statement on Oct. 17 about Payne’s tragic passing at the age of 31. Each of them also shared individual statements on their separate Instagram pages.
On Horan’s page on Oct. 18, he uploaded a playful photo of him on Horan’s back, while both flash smiles for the camera. Horan captioned the post with a black heart emoji, while a second slide featured a message.
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“I’m absolutely devastated about the passing of my amazing friend, Liam. It just doesn’t feel real,” he began.
“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 then opened up about the memories he shares with Payne.
“All the laughs we had over the years, sometimes about the simplest of things, keep coming to mind through the sadness,” he wrote. “We got to live out our wildest dream together and I will cherish every moment we had forever. The bond and friendship we had doesn’t happen often in a lifetime.
“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.”
Horan then offered a message of condolence for people in Payne’s life, including his son, Bear, 7.
“Thank you for everything, Payne. Love you brother. Nialler,” he ended his post.
Horan and Payne were the two One Direction members who reunited most recently. On Oct. 2, Payne attended Horan’s concert in Argentina. Payne shared videos of himself singing along with the crowd on his Snapchat stories. In one post, he captured a clip of Horan on stage and wrote, “So proud.”
After the show, the friends met up and Payne uploaded two selfies they took together.
Each of the One Direction members’ statements echoed the sentiment expressed in the group’s remarks uploaded to the boy band’s Instagram page.
In the joint statement, Horan, Styles, Tomlinson and Malik said, in part, “We’re completely devastated by the news of Liam’s passing. In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say. But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly. The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever.”
At the end of the message, they wrote, “We love you Liam.”