Louis Tomlinson shared the vulnerable moment he found out about the death of his bandmate and close pal, Liam Payne.
During his appearance on the Diary of a CEO podcast, the One Direction alum recalled the moment he learnt about Payne's death from their fellow bandmate Niall Horan.
Tomlinson noted that he was "in the car, in LA" when the tragic news of Payne's death on October 16, 2024, was delivered to him via group chat.
He was 31 and died after falling from the balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
"I had the same feeling that I had with Félicité," said the 33-year-old, referencing his late sister who died suddenly at age 18 in March 2019, after an accidental overdose.
He added, "And I think anyone has this when they're around someone who's struggling, my 150% wasn't nearly enough."
Continuing, Tomlinson talked about helping his pal during his hard time: "And that's when it’s my own arrogance thinking that I could have helped really, because it was so much deeper than what I could have done for him."
"He was definitely struggling at that time in his life," said Tomlinson of Payne.
Elsewhere in the interview, the Bigger Than Me singer shared that the whole band looked up to Liam.
He noted, "I don't think we would have been brave enough to say at that age when I was in the band, I think I would've had too much pride, but we all looked up to him massively."
Moreover, Louis Tomlinson is set to appear in a three-part Netflix documentary with former bandmate Zayn Malik, where they are speculated to talk about their shared experiences of being part of one of the most successful boy groups and losing a bandmate.
Notably, Tomlinson's upcoming album, How Did I Get Here?, is set for a January 23, 2026, release.
