Liam Payne tragically died on Wednesday, October 16. He was 31 years old. The former One Direction band member was found dead after falling from the third floor of his Buenos Aires hotel window, according to CNN. The outlet reported that Payne died on Costa Rica street in the Palermo neighborhood and that local authorities confirmed his death.
Police were reportedly called to respond to an “aggressive man” who was allegedly “under the effects of drugs and alcohol,” per Reuters.
The news comes as a shock to all One Direction fans and those who followed Liam’s solo career after the band went on an indefinite hiatus in 2015. Liam and his former bandmates, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan, released some of the music industry’s most popular songs, including “What Makes You Beautiful.”
After the band announced its hiatus, Payne eventually released his own music. In 2017, the late English vocalist released “Strip That Down” as the lead single from his forthcoming debut album, which was LP1.
Before his death, Payne was reportedly in a relationship with Kate Cassidy. They started dating in 2022.
Payne was also a father to his 7-year-old son, Bear Grey Payne, whom he shared with ex Cheryl Cole. The two dated from 2016 to 2018. The Teen Choice Award winner later dated his ex-fiancée, Maya Henry, in 2019. They briefly split in 2021 but reunited later that year until they broke up for good in 2022.
Henry, however, sought legal action against Payne earlier this week. Per Daily Mail, the 23-year-old model instructed her attorneys to submit a cease-and-desist letter to her ex-fiancé, alleging that he had been obsessively contacting.
Payne’s last Instagram post was in May. At the time, the “Story of My Life” hitmaker posted a tribute to late filmmaker Morgan Spurlock. Payne shared a photo of him with his former bandmates posing next to Spurlock, who died following a battle with cancer. He directed the documentary One Direction: This Is Us, which was released in 2013.
“Rest in peace Morgan Spurlock it was a pleasure working with you,” Payne wrote alongside the Instagram photo.