On 16th October last year, the world mourned the loss of a member of one of the biggest boy bands of all time. Fans were left in shock when news broke that One Direction’s Liam Payne had passed away at the age of 31. The group’s first reunion in years was, sadly, to attend the singer’s funeral. Each member grieved the loss of their friend and paid tribute to Liam on their respective social media pages.
Understandably, none of the former members has publicly spoken in detail about the tragedy. However, reports have suggested that Harry Styles has found it especially difficult to come to terms with his former member’s passing. Almost a year after Liam’s death, Louis Tomlinson has finally opened up about his own experience of grief.
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone UK, Louis reflected on celebrating One Direction’s 15th anniversary earlier this year without Liam Payne for the first time. “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,” he said. He later admitted that over the years, he had gotten sick of the nostalgia for previous anniversaries, but this year, he felt very different, especially after losing a member of the group.
“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. It was really, really, impossibly difficult for me to deal with losing Liam,” he added. Having previously experienced personal loss, including the passing of his mother and sister, the singer admitted he was naïve to think he could handle grief well. However, he shared that losing a friend was an entirely different experience, one he had never faced before.
Louis also reflected on the times he and the rest of One Direction auditioned for X-Factor. He described Liam to be the “safest pair of hands” as he had more experience in auditioning for the competition. “We were all just so amateur, but he was already where he needed to be by the time he did his first [X Factor] 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,” said the singer.
The interview concluded with the “Lemonade” singer addressing the negativity Liam has faced in recent years. He described his former band member as a misunderstood individual in the eyes of the public, adding that the negative treatment he received during his lifetime was deeply unfair.
Source: Rolling Stone UK
