Harry Styles mourns the death of former One Direction band member Liam Payne

Harry Styles pays tribute to the former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne after his death at the age of 31.

“I am truly devastated by Liam’s death,” Styles, 30, wrote via Instagram on Thursday, October 17, alongside a photo of Payne performing in front of a large crowd. “His greatest joy was making other people happy, and it was an honor to be at his side.”

He continued: “Liam lived wide open, with his heart on his sleeve, he had a life energy that was contagious. He was warm, supportive and incredibly loving. The years we spent together will forever be among the most precious years of my life. I will always miss him, my dear friend.”

Styles ended the post by saying his “heart breaks” for “Karen, Geoff, Nicola and Rush, his son Bear and everyone in the world who knew and loved him, as I did.”

Related: Timeline of Harry Styles and Liam Payne's friendship: One Direction and beyond

Al Pereira/WireImage The friendship between Harry Styles and Liam Payne went far beyond One Direction. The singers met in 2010 during their time on The )

For the caption, Styles simply said, “🖤.”

Us weekly confirmed that Payne died after falling from the balcony of his hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A preliminary autopsy later revealed that Payne died of “internal and external” bleeding, but probably not as a result of third-party injuries. The report also noted that Payne “may have fallen into a state of semi- or total unconsciousness.”

Following the news, the remaining members of One Direction released a joint statement mourning Payne.

“We are completely devastated by the news of Liam’s death. “As time goes on and everyone is able to, there will be more to say,” Styles says. Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson And Niall Horan said on Thursday, October 17th. “But for now we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved very much. The memories we shared with him will be remembered forever. At the moment our thoughts are with his family, his friends and the fans who loved him by our side. We will miss him terribly. We love you, Liam.”

The statement was signed “Louis, Zayn, Niall and Harry.”

One Direction was formed based on the British version of The X Factor in 2010, where they placed third. The five-piece boy band released four albums before 31-year-old Malik announced his departure from the group in 2015. The other four members released one more album before their indefinite hiatus officially began in 2016.

In the years following their split, Payne gushed about his friendship with Styles. “We've all had success in completely different areas and musically we haven't really followed the same path. I think Harry did a great job,” Payne said during an appearance on the Diary of a CEO podcast in June 2021. “I mean, on the first album he had the one song that's actually really good, and then on his second album.”, he found himself.”

Related: Inside Liam Payne's bond with his former One Direction members

From the moment One Direction formed, Liam Payne had four other brothers for life. Thanks to the creative minds of The X Factor UK judges Simon Cowell, Nicole Scherzinger and Louis Walsh, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Payne came together in 2010 to form a life-changing boy band. (…)

After Styles took home multiple Grammy Awards in 2023, Payne praised his former band member. “Wow… this picture is truly something to wake up to and when you write music like Harry, you deserve every millisecond of that moment of smiling looking down at the trophy you deserve,” he wrote via Instagram. “God bless you brother, congratulations.”