Harry Styles Says He “Struggled” To Talk About Liam Payne’s Death
Plus, he shared his thoughts on the “greatest way you can honor your friends.”
Harry Styles opened up about how he’s been coping with his grief after Liam Payne’s death. The 31-year-old singer died in October 2024. At the time, Styles and the rest of Payne’s One Direction band mates — Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, and Louis Tomlinson — released a statement about Payne’s passing.
“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,” Styles told Zane Lowe in a Marc 4 Apple Music interview. “It’s like, I saw someone with the kindest heart who just wanted to be great.”
“It was a really important moment for me in terms of taking a look at my life and being able to say to myself, ‘OK, what do I want to do with my life? How do I want to live my life?’” he continued. “And I think the greatest way you can honor your friends who pass away is by living your life to the fullest.”
Styles said in “full transparency” that he has a hard time with “even the idea of talking about” Payne’s death. “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,” the singer told Lowe.
“I have such strong feelings around my friend passing away. Then suddenly being, you know, like, aware of there’s maybe a desire from other people [for] you to convey that in some way, or it means you’re not feeling what you’re feeling or something,” he added.
After Payne’s death, Styles — along with his former band members — released a joint statement on Instagram. “We’re completely devastated by the news of Liam’s passing,” they wrote at the time. “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,” the statement continued. “For now, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and the fans who loved him alongside us. We will miss him terribly.”
In November 2024, they all attended Payne’s funeral in Amersham, England together.
