One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson Details Moment Niall Horan Told Him About Liam Payne’s Death

Louis Tomlinson found out about Liam Payne’s death through their bandmate Niall Horan, saying he “had the same feeling” during the call when learning about sister Félicité Tomlinson’s passing in 2019.

Louis Tomlinson knows how quickly the night changes.

The One Direction member heartbreakingly recounted the moment he learned of Liam Payne‘s death, sharing that he “found out through” their fellow bandmate Niall Horan while he was “in the car, in L.A.”

Payne passed away in October 2024 after falling from a third-floor balcony at a hotel in Argentina. The 31-year-old’s cause of death was determined to be multiple traumatic injuries as well as internal and external hemorrhaging, with toxicology results showing that he had alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in his system.

“I had the same feeling that I had with Félicité,” Tomlinson, 33, recalled of Horan’s phone call on the Oct. 8 episode of the Diary of a CEO podcast, referencing the accidental overdose death of his 18-year-old sister in 2019. “And I think anyone has this when they’re around someone who’s struggling—my 150 percent wasn’t nearly enough.”

Looking back, Tomlinson said Payne was “definitely struggling at that time in his life.”

“And that’s when it’s my own arrogance thinking that I could have helped really,” the singer admitted, “because it was so much deeper than what I could have done for him.”

Shortly after Payne’s passing, Tomlinson shared a tribute to his late friend, writing on Instagram that he had “lost a brother.”

Jim Smeal/Shutterstock

“I feel beyond lucky to have had you in my life but I’m really struggling with the idea of saying goodbye,” the All of Those Voices star shared at the time. “I’m so grateful that we got even closer since the band, speaking on the phone for hours, reminiscing about all the thousands of amazing memories we had together is a luxury I thought I’d have with you for life.”

Reflecting on his emotional message, Tomlinson said he took his grief to social media because he wanted Payne “to be remembered the way that he should be remembered.”

“I could just go on and talk all day about how amazing he was, but I think we all looked up to him,” he told Diary of a CEO host Steven Bartlett of Payne. “I don’t think we would have been brave enough to say at that age when I was in the band, I think I would’ve had too much pride, but we all looked up to him massively.”

David Fisher/Shutterstock

Tomlinson joined Horan and fellow One Direction alums Harry Styles and Zayn Malik at Payne’s London funeral in November. In a rare joint statement released last year, the group said they were “completely devastated” by the loss.

“The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever,” Tomlinson, Horan, Styles and Malik added. “We will miss him terribly.”