GOSSIP & RUMORS: One Direction releases heartfelt statement on Liam Payne’s death

The former members of One Direction have released a joint statement following Liam Payne’s tragic death at 31.  

“We’re completely devastated by the news of Liam’s passing,” read the statement from Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson, which was obtained by the Post on Thursday.

“In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say. But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly.”

“The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever,” they added. “For now, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and the fans who loved him alongside us. We will miss him terribly. We love you Liam.”

Payne rose to fame alongside Malik, Styles, Horan and Tomlinson after the group was formed on “The X Factor” in 2010. 

Payne auditioned for the UK singing competition series in 2008, where he met future girlfriend Cheryl Cole. The pair dated from 2016 to 2018 and shared a son, Bear, now seven.

Cole, now 41, was one of the judges alongside Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh who watched a then-14-year-old Payne audition for the show for the first time.

“When I’m at school, in general, I think about singing all the time,” Payne told producers before his audition. “I should really be concentrating on my work, but I just think about singing too much. It’s a dream and I’d love to do it.”

Payne sang “Fly Me to the Moon,” made famous by Frank Sinatra, and his rendition impressed the judges, though Cowell, 65, shared some constructive criticism.

“I think there is potential with you, Liam,” he said, adding, “I’m just missing a bit of grit, a bit of emotion — and actually a bit of fun, funnily enough.” 

Cole told Payne, “I like you. I think you’re really cute. I think you’ve got charisma. You give us that little cheeky wink.”

All three judges gave Payne a “yes,” and he left the room as family members present, including mom Karen and dad Geoff, celebrated.

Payne made it to the judges’ house stage before Cowell eliminated him.

At the time, Cowell told guest judge Sinitta, “I’ve just got a horrible feeling now I am gonna seriously regret this decision.”

Two years later, Payne returned to “The X Factor” for Season 7. For his 2010 audition, the then-16-year-old performed “Cry Me a River,” inspired by Michael Bublé’s version, in front of Cole, Cowell and other judges.

“You’ve definitely got it. Whatever it is, you’ve got it,” Cole told Payne. “And I thought your voice was really, really powerful.”

Payne made it to the bootcamp stage, where he and fellow solo artists Tomlinson, Malik, Styles and Horan were put together to become One Direction.

The group came in third place on the show but went on to become one of the highest-charting boy bands of all time.

The group released four albums until Malik announced his departure from the band in March 2015. 

During an interview that same year, Payne said of Malik’s exit: “He had to do what he had to do, really, for himself. It’s fine.”

“We’re just going to carry on doing what we’re doing. We wish him all the best with whatever he goes into and stuff,” he continued. “We’ll just have to see what happens.”

After Malik left, One Direction went on an indefinite 2016 hiatus.

In 2017, Payne said all was “fine and good” with Malik despite the “Pillowtalk” singer’s negative comments about being part of the band.

Years before Payne’s death, the singer spoke candidly about his time in One Direction on Jessie Ware’s podcast “Table Manners” in 2019.

Payne said that the boy band endured a “mess” of a schedule, dealing with sold-out tours before even recording an album. 

“There’s no stop button,” he told Ware at the time. “You’ve got no control over your life. That’s why I lost complete control of everything.” 

The “Strip That Down” artist found the split “really scary at first” but happy it was over.

Payne went on to a solo career, releasing one album, “LP1,” in 2019, and said he had started working on a follow-up. 

However, Payne also said he initially struggled to break the partying and overworking habits he developed while in the group. 

The late artist decided, “You’re either going to end up a crazy child star who dies at whatever age, or you’re going to live life and actually get on with it.”

“I remember getting to therapy and the guy was like ‘What do you like to do?’ I didn’t know,” he recalled.

However, this wasn’t the first time Payne got candid on his struggles during his boy band years.

He told Men’s Health Australia in 2019 that “it’s difficult when you have the level of fame that we had in the band.”

“There have been a lot of people in trouble with mental health that aren’t really getting the help that they need, and I think that’s a bit of a problem in our industry,” Payne said. “It’s the same s – – t that happens to everyone, that’s been happening since the ’70s. You know what the traps are and if you are lucky enough, like me, to be able to get out of that scenario and back into a sense of normality, then you know it’s a bit different.”

He said that going on stage and out in public was like “putting the Disney costume on,” confessing: “I was [drunk] quite a lot of the time because there was no other way to get your head around what was going on.”

“I mean, it was fun,” Payne said. “We had an absolute blast, but there were certain parts of it where it just got a little bit toxic.”

Payne fell to his death from the third floor of his hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Wednesday. 

Medical officials confirmed that the star had a “cranial fracture and extremely serious injuries that led to his immediate death.”

Witnesses told TMZ Payne’s behavior seemed “erratic” before the fatal accident. He allegedly smashed his laptop in the hotel lobby and was carried back to his room before the fall.

He arrived in Argentina earlier this month to see Horan in concert alongside girlfriend Kate Cassidy.