Niall Horan Reflects on Liam Payne’s Death: ‘It Still Feels Surreal’

Niall Horan has spoken candidly about the death of his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne, admitting that nearly two years later, the loss still feels difficult to fully process.

In a new interview with The Times of London, Horan reflected on his friendship with Payne and revealed that one of his final memories of the singer came just weeks before he died in Argentina. Payne died in October 2024 at age 31 after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, a tragedy that shocked fans around the world and left his former bandmates grieving the sudden loss of someone they had spent much of their lives alongside.

Looking back, Horan said he remains grateful that his final interaction with Payne was a positive one. “I’m glad of that, it means my last memory of him was happy,” he said. “It still feels surreal. On day one, I was, like, ‘Nah, it didn’t happen.’ (...) Our friendship was a bond that was there forever, even if we hadn’t seen each other for a while,” Horan continued. “It’s wild that one day, like the flick of a switch, he’s gone.”

The singer explained that despite the years that had passed since One Direction went on hiatus, the connection between the band members never disappeared. While their lives had taken them in different directions professionally, the bond created during their rise to global fame remained intact.

One Direction was formed on The X Factor in 2010 and quickly became one of the most successful pop acts of its generation. Horan and Payne, alongside Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik, spent much of their late teens and early twenties touring the world, breaking sales records and building one of the most passionate fanbases in modern music. Although the group stepped away from the spotlight in 2016 to pursue solo careers, the members remained connected long after the band's peak years.

Since Payne’s death, Horan said their families have continued to stay in touch as they navigate the loss together. While grief remains a constant presence, he described it as something more complicated than simple sadness.

Rather than dwelling solely on the tragedy, Horan often finds himself remembering the countless moments they shared during years of touring and traveling together. Sometimes those memories surface unexpectedly. “I’ll go to places and think of something stupid in a hotel or something random that makes me laugh,” he said.

Among his favorite memories are trips to Australia, where the band was able to escape some of the intense attention that followed them elsewhere. “We always had good fun in Australia because we were able to get out and go to the beach,” Horan recalled. “Liam wasn’t too bad at surfing. I can barely swim.”

The interview comes as Horan prepares to release his new album, Dinner Party, on June 5. One of the project's most emotional tracks is “End of an Era,” a song that has taken on added significance following Payne’s death. Horan recently revealed that the song evolved into a reflection on friendship, loss, and the memories left behind.

Asked what Payne might have thought of the track, Horan said he believes it would have been exactly the kind of song his former bandmate enjoyed.