Harry Styles Opens Up on Liam Payne Loss
Harry Styles has spoken publicly for the first time about the death of former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne, saying the loss made him reassess how he wants to live and work amid what he described as pressure from public expectations around grief.
Appearing on Apple Music’s The Zane Lowe Show, Daily Mail reported that Styles said he struggled with “acknowledging how strange it is to have people kind of like own part of your grief,” adding: “It’s so difficult to lose a friend… it’s so difficult to lose a friend who is so like you in so many ways.”
The singer, 32, also described Payne as having “the kindest heart,” and said he wanted to honour him by “living your life to the fullest.” Styles and Payne rose to fame as members of One Direction alongside Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan, before the group went on an indefinite hiatus in 2016.
Styles’ latest appearance follows other major public moments, including when he arrived at the BRIT Awards in a head-turning ensemble during an awards season in which he has largely kept his personal life private.
Styles said the experience also fed into a broader look at his career, describing a period of stepping back to check whether making music remained a passion rather than simply the work he had always done.
