Niall Horan reflects on Liam Payne’s untimely death

Niall Horan has revealed he often wonders if he could have been more supportive of Liam Payne before his untimely passing.

Their friendship blossomed on The X Factor where they joined iconic boy band One Direction with Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, and Louis Tomlinson.

Liam died in October 2024 following an accident in Buenos Aires.

He was residing at the CasaSur hotel during the incident, later revealing traces of alcohol, cocaine, and prescribed antidepressants in his system.

Now, Niall has expressed his ongoing reflections on whether more could have been done to assist Liam or if he overlooked any red flags.

While appearing on the Tommy Tiernan Show, the artist expressed: “You start to wonder: What more could I have done? Should I have looked into things more deeply? Talked to more people? It's a whirlwind of questions.”

“I knew he was facing some challenges… but the gravity of the situation eluded me.”

Tommy expressed his sympathy before coaxing Niall into reminiscing about his feelings upon learning of Liam’s passing.

Emotionally, Niall recollected being “dumbfounded” and proceeded to share a heart-rending story of their last encounter.

He recounted: “I had a performance in Buenos Aires two weeks prior, coincidentally when he was there. We chatted…”

“He came to my hotel during the day for a coffee.

“He attended the concert that night and joined me in the dressing room beforehand. It was genuinely delightful seeing him.”

Once Niall's tour wrapped, he learned of Liam's demise through a text message.

He recounted: “The tour concluded in Colombia, and within a week of returning home after a rigorous stint on the road…

“Just as I was settling for bed, a glance at a text on my phone revealed the heartbreaking news…”

Niall voiced how he’s still undergoing the healing process and admits he's hardly started processing the loss of his friend.

He confessed: “The grieving stages… I’m far from comprehending them fully.

“He was like family, and not having him around is surreal.

“Nothing prepares you for learning such news from a phone alert.

“Naively, I turned on the news — Sky News, CNN, BBC, RTE — and it seemed as though the world was addressing it.

“It was the headline everywhere…”

Liam is survived by his son, Bear, 8, whom he had with ex-partner Cheryl Tweedy.