It’s been nearly a year since the world lost Liam Payne, and now, with the first anniversary of his heartbreaking death looming, former fellow bandmate Louis Tomlinson is opening up about just how deeply that loss has shaken him.
In a candid and emotional interview with Rolling Stone UK that’ll hit newsstands on Thursday, Louis doesn’t hold back as he reflects on the unimaginable grief of losing his One Direction colleague and friend. Of course, Liam tragically passed away in October 2024 after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina. And ever since, the mourning hasn’t stopped.
Related: Nicole Scherzinger Details Final Text To Liam Payne On The Day He Died
Take, for example, the proverbial signpost earlier this year noting that it’s been a whopping 15 years since the creation of 1D. That should have been a celebration. But for Louis, it was anything but. He told the mag:
“It was really uncomfortable, actually, the 15th anniversary, because the [collective] feeling to celebrate is as important, if not more important than ever, on behalf of Liam.”
Ugh.
The bittersweetness of it all hit hard. For Tomlinson, that anniversary wasn’t a walk down memory lane, painful reminder of the empty space Liam left behind after his death. He explained:
“You know, there’s still a level in my head [where it feels] unjust and frustrating that he’s not with us anymore. So, it just brought up those feelings, although I’m still living with them anyway.”
Heartbreaking doesn’t even begin to cover it.
Louis went on to say that while he’s experienced his fair share of loss, like pretty much every adult, nothing could have prepared him for this. He reflected:
“It was really, really, impossibly difficult for me to deal with losing Liam. Naively, I thought that because at this point, I’m relatively well versed in grief for my age, that it might soften the blow. [That was] super-naive. It’s very different. I’ve never lost a friend before.”
If you’ve ever doubted the bond those boys shared, that should put it to rest.
And beyond the grief, there’s admiration for who Liam was — especially during their early 1D days, when they were just a group of mostly clueless teenagers trying to navigate the madness of sudden global fame. Louis recalled:
“We were all just so amateur, but he was already where he needed to be by the time he did his first audition. None of us would have admitted it at the time, because you have a lot of pride as a young lad, but we all looked up to him like that.”
Louis also used the interview to speak up about something else that happened after Liam’s passing: what he felt was grossly unfair press aimed at the late singer.
Louis specifically referenced the backlash Liam received after his controversial 2022 appearance on Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast — an interview that some thought painted Liam as arrogant and bitter about the whole 1D experience and his own bandmates.
To Rolling Stone UK, Louis tried to set the record straight on that part of his late pal’s life:
“Anyone who knew [Liam] personally would know how deeply unfair that was. Anything that he got wrong in life, Liam — which, by the way, we all do daily — it was never through malice. It was only through miscommunication — him just not being able to express himself in the way he needed to.”
Now, Louis wants 1D’s fans and critics alike to look deeper and see who Liam really was behind the fame, pressure, and misunderstood interviews. And to that end, when Louis was asked what he wishes more people understood about Liam, he left us with this:
“He was just a very misunderstood person, I think, from a public perspective. If there is ever any judgment on his character, I think nine times out of 10, you can reflect on that, and the reflection is that he was someone who just wanted to be liked.”
That line hits like a ton of bricks.
Like we said, Louis’ full interview will be released in the mag’s print issue on Thursday. Then, the online version will drop a week after that.
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[Image via Adriana M. Barraza/MEGA/WENN]