Harry Styles's Mom Opens Up About Former One Direction Member Liam Payne's Death

Hours before his unexpected death on Oct. 18, Liam Payne shared updates about his trip to Buenos Aires on social media . He had been there for fellow former One Direction band member Niall Horan's concert tour when he fell from his hotel balcony and died. And, following Liam's unexpected death, Harry Styles 's mom, among other people close to him, spoke out about the accident.

Like Liam and Niall, Harry was one of the founding members of the British boy band. They met and performed together on The X Factor . Along with the other One Direction members, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik, they had joined the reality competition show as solo artists. After they were thrown together in a band, they became One Direction and found fame together.

Harry Styles's mom speaks out about Liam Payne's death.

Because the members of One Direction, including Liam, were all still teenagers when they formed the band, they were forced to grow up together. Which, for the most part, wasn't a bad thing. It also meant getting to know each others' close friends and family members. And, following Liam's untimely passing, Harry's mom, Anne Twist, posted about him on Instagram.

"Just a boy," she wrote, with a picture of a giant red broken heart emoji. Anne didn't share anything else in her Instagram post about Liam, but after she posted it on the night of Oct. 18, there was an influx of comments sending condolences to her and everyone else who was close to Liam at the time of his death.

Although the One Direction band members branched off from the group in 2016 to pursue their own solo projects, they stayed in touch through ups and downs. So much so that, when Liam posted a YouTube video in July 2023, he apologized for his comments he had made publicly against his former bandmates and commended them for standing by him.

"One of the biggest remarks I made was about the One Direction thing," he said at the time, in his video. "The rest of the boys really stuck by me when I needed them most, they kinda came to the rescue. Even Zayn, as well, which is why I did send him a little thank you online. It came across really big-headed didn't it?"

Liam is survived by his son, Bear Grey Payne.