Louis Tomlinson breaks his silence on the 'impossibly difficult' death of former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne

As the first anniversary of Liam Payne's death approaches, his fellow One Direction bandmate Louis Tomlinson has reflected on the loss.

The 33-year-old spoke publicly for the first time about Payne's shock death following a fall from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires on October 16 last year. He was aged 31.

"It was really, really, impossibly difficult for me to deal with losing Liam," Tomlinson told Rolling Stone magazine in a new interview.

Tomlinson admitted he "naively" thought he was equipped to deal with grief having already lost his mother and sister within a few years of each other.

His mum, Johannah Deakin, died in 2016 from leukaemia and his younger sister, Félicité, died of an accidental drug overdose in 2019 at the age of 18.

"Naively, I thought that because at this point, I'm relatively well versed in grief for my age, that it might soften the blow," he told the publication.

"[That was] super-naive. It's very different. I've never lost a friend before."

READ MORE: UK band cancel Aussie tour after frontman dislocates jaw

READ MORE: Taylor Swift's passionate response to album critics

READ MORE: 'Excited': Nicole returns to social media amid divorce

July 23 marked the 15th anniversary of One Direction's formation - which also included Niall Horan, Harry Styles and Zayn Malik - and the first Payne wasn't there to celebrate.

Tomlinson said that made it a "really uncomfortable" day as he still struggles to get his head around his friend's tragic death.

"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," he said.

The day was made harder because Tomlinson credits Payne with helping shape 1D, who went on to sell more than 200 million records worldwide and became one of the best-selling boy bands in history.

Following Payne's death, Tomlinson wrote a lengthy tribute on social media, describing the singer as a "brother" and "somebody I looked up to everyday, such a positive, funny, and kind soul".

"Liam was in my opinion the most vital part of One Direction," he also noted.

View gallery

Girls Aloud attend Liam Payne's funeral in show of support for Cheryl

"His experience from a young age, his perfect pitch, his stage presence, his gift for writing. The list goes on.

"Thank you for shaping us Liam."

The group were put together on UK reality TV series The X-Factor in 2010. They went on hiatus in 2016 after Malik left the group in 2015.

FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.