In some news nobody was emotionally prepared for, Harry Styles has broken his silence after the untimely death of his former One Direction bandmate, Liam Payne. Liam passed away on Wednesday, October 16, at the age of 31 after a tragic fall from the third floor of his hotel in Argentina.
The remaining members of One Direction, united like the emotionally supportive ex-boyband brothers they are, dropped a group statement the following day. But because individuality matters (and because Instagram allows extra slides now), each of the guys has also been sharing personal tributes to Liam. Enter: Harry Styles, emotional cinnamon roll extraordinaire.
On Instagram, Harry posted a solemn picture of Liam standing in front of what we can only assume is a sea of screaming fans in a packed stadium—because, let’s face it, the 1D boys never did anything without at least 10,000 people crying in the background.
And now, the words. Get ready to clutch your heart and whisper, “Oh no…”
Slide 2 – aka The Emotional Gut Punch:
“I am truly devastated by Liam’s passing,” Harry began, hitting us right in the feels from the first sentence. “His greatest joy was making other people happy, and it was an honour to be alongside him as he did it.” (Translation: Liam had all the vibes, and Harry had front-row seats to them.)
Then came the part where you’ll need a box of tissues. Harry continued, “Liam lived wide open, with his heart on his sleeve, and had an energy for life that was infectious.” (Confirmed: Liam was not the ‘text you back three days later’ kind of guy. No sir, he was here for you, all in.) “He was warm, supportive, and incredibly loving.”
Harry didn’t stop there—because this is Harry we’re talking about, and when he feels, he feels. “The years we spent together will forever remain among the most cherished years of my life,” he confessed. “I will miss him always, my lovely friend.”
(Excuse us while we cry into our oversized, vintage 1D tour T-shirts.)
And in true Styles fashion, he wrapped it all up with a message that could probably double as song lyrics in his next album: “My heart breaks for Karen, Geoff, Nicola, Ruth, his son Bear, and all those around the world who knew and loved him, as I did. – Harry.”
If anyone’s wondering whether this heartfelt message shattered what was left of the collective fandom’s emotional stability, the answer is a resounding YES. But hey, if grief has to hit us this hard, at least it’s being narrated by the poetic soul of Harry Styles.
