Harry Styles and Liam Payne’s friendship went way beyond One Direction.
The singers met when they became bandmates (alongside Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik) during their stint on The X Factor in 2010. As a fivesome, the group released four albums together before Malik departed from the band in March 2015. The remaining members released one more album before announcing an indefinite hiatus in December 2015.
As they all went on to release solo music, some of the former band members stayed close. Styles and Payne didn’t make their ongoing friendship a particularly public ordeal, but the duo continued to support each other’s careers. (Payne died at age 31 in October 2024 following a fall from a hotel balcony.)
“We’ve all had our success in completely different areas, and also musically, we didn’t really go down the same route. I think Harry’s done amazing,” Payne said while appearing on the “Diary of a CEO” podcast in June 2021. “I mean, first album he had the one song off which is really really well and then [on] his second album, he found himself.”
Since One Direction’s 2016 split, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik have had varying levels of success in the music industry. All five original members have embarked on solo careers, with Malik becoming the first to do so after abruptly leaving the boy band in March 2015. He subsequently signed […]
Keep scrolling to see Styles and Payne’s friendship through the years:
July 2010
Payne and Styles became band members when One Direction was officially formed on The X Factor.
April 2013
During a London concert, Payne notoriously pulled down Styles’ pants during a performance of “What Makes You Beautiful.”
August 2015
While performing as part of the Good Morning America Summer Concert Series, Payne and Styles had their arms wrapped around each other during a group photo with Horan and Tomlinson.
June 2017
Payne shared a tribute for Styles’ late stepfather, Robin Twist.
“Harry my heart really goes out to you such an extremely sad day for us all who knew Robin,” he wrote in a since-deleted Instagram post. “What a kind, gentle and beautiful soul, a true rarity to find in today’s world. Sometimes they really do take the best of us far too soon.”
October 2017
Payne revealed during an interview with U.K.’s The Sun that he has “bumped into” Styles while in New York City.
“He’s been through a rough time recently. God bless him, he was really happy to see me. The funniest thing was we didn’t really talk business. Dunkirk was out and all this was happening, and we just gave each other a big hug,” Payne said. “We didn’t say much but you could tell we were really happy to see each other. It was like touching home base.”
December 2019
Both Payne and Styles performed at the CapitalFM Jingle Bell Ball that year.
“We spoke about a number of things,” Payne said on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen later that same month. “It was good to see him, he was pretty much the same boy that I left him.”
Liam Payne navigated a series of ups and downs throughout his career in the spotlight ahead of his tragic death at 31. Payne rose to fame as a member of British boy band One Direction alongside Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik. The group was put together and mentored by Simon Cowell […]
June 2021
During an Instagram Live, Payne revealed that he and Styles had spoken on the phone for a “lovely” chat.
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“He called me because he has a sixth sense for if I’m struggling or if one of us is in trouble, I feel like,” Payne said at the time. “I spoke to him, and it was a really lovely catch up actually. And I’ve got a lot of love for the man. He’s great, he’s really, really great.”
February 2023
Following Styles’ multiple Grammy Awards wins, Payne posted a social media tribute to his former bandmate.
“Wow … this image is really something to wake up to and when you write music like you do Harry you deserve every millisecond of that moment looking down smiling at the trophy you’ve earned,” he shared on Instagram. “God bless you brother congratulations.”
