Ant Middleton has reacted to news of his friend Liam Payne‘s death during a live interview on Thursday morning.
The former One Direction member, 31, reportedly fell from the third floor of CasaSur Palmero Hotel in Buenos Aires shortly after 5pm on Wednesday evening.
Ant, 44, held back tears as he shared some of his most memorable moments with the singer on The Morning Show.
The SAS star said Liam, who joined him to film the documentary Ant Middleton & Liam Payne: Straight Talking in 2019, was like a little brother to him.
They spent three days in Namibia filming the series and forged a strong bond by fleeing lions, surfing on freight trains, abseiling and sleeping under the stars.
‘We bonded. He was my bro. He was like a younger brother to me. He confided in me,’ an emotional Ant said as he held back tears.
‘I would go round and see him. You know, there were some issues there, but nothing that a young celebrity of his calibre wouldn’t suffer from.’
‘So, I’m just shocked at the moment, really. I don’t really know what to say.’
Ant Middleton held back tears as he reacted to news of his friend Liam Payne’s death during a live interview on Thursday morning
Ant and Liam first met at the opening of Mark Wahlberg’s Wahlburgers restaurant in Covent Garden, London.
Ant previously told The Standard, they would regularly meet for coffees and chat about each other’s children.
He explained he could relate to Liam’s isolation and struggle to re-enter the civilian world post being a part of the century’s biggest boy band.
Liam also revealed at the time, how he would confide in Ant, admitting: ‘I’ve more or less told Ant everything.’
‘I think in the situation where we were it was a release for both of us in a way. And there were things I’ve never really spoken about before.’
The SAS star said Liam, who joined him to film the documentary Ant Middleton & Liam Payne: Straight Talking in 2019, was like a little brother to him
They spent three days in Namibia filming the series and forged a strong bond by fleeing lions, surfing on freight trains, abseiling and sleeping under the stars
The documentary forced long, candid discussions about fatherhood, drinking, and relationships between the two famous men.
The pair had no camera, no cell service, and no fans.
During their time together, Liam admitted to Ant that becoming a dad at the age of 23 ‘messed him up’.
‘Cheryl’s [Cole] still the most important person in my life,’ he said in the documentary, referring to his ex-partner and his son Bear’s mother.
‘They say that the age you enter fame is the age you leave it,’ Liam added in now-haunting remarks as he reflected on the lasting impacts of One Direction.
‘I’m quite lucky to be here still.’
The documentary forced long, candid discussions about fatherhood, drinking, and relationships between the two famous men
Liam reportedly fell from a hotel in Buenos, Argentina on Wednesday around 5pm (ART).
Police in Buenos Aires last night said they were initially responding to a 911 call ‘of an aggressive man who may have been under the effects of drugs and alcohol’.
Officials heard a loud sound in the courtyard before discovering his body just after 5pm, reported the BBC.
According to TMZ, Liam ‘had been acting erratic in the hotel lobby and smashed his laptop’ before he ‘had to be carried back to his room’.
Police had received a call from a worker at the hotel requesting urgent help with an intoxicated guest, according to audio related to the case obtained from the Buenos Aires security ministry.
‘When he is conscious he is destroying the entire room and we need you to send someone,’ the worker said.
Emergency medical services director Alberto Crescenti said Liam had suffered ‘very serious injuries after falling from a third floor into an internal courtyard’.
‘We verified his identity using the passport he had,’ he said.
Mr Crescenti told Argentine newspaper Clarin that ‘the team saw that he apparently had a fracture at the base of the skull’.
His body was transported to a local morgue where a post-mortem examination will be carried out.
Unverified pictures have since emerged online claiming to be Liam’s hotel room completely trashed with one image showing a smashed television screen.
Last night tearful fans hugged each other as they gathered and lit candles outside the hotel where Liam’s body was found.
One woman could be seen sitting on the pavement with her head in between her knees.
The Night Changes singer had been spotted attending his former bandmate Niall Horan‘s concert in the country earlier this month.
Ant previously told The Standard , they would regularly meet for coffees and chat about each other’s children
In 2008, Liam kickstarted his music career after auditioning on The X Factor when he was just 14-years-old in front of judges Simon Cowell, Cheryl, Louis Walsh and Dannii Minogue.
He was cut from the competition series but returned in 2010, and joined Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson to form the boy band, One Direction.
The group won third place on The X Factor and went on to become a global sensation, with hits such as What Makes You Beautiful and Live While We’re Young.
The band released five studio albums, including Up All Night (2011), Midnight Memories (2013) and Made In The A.M. (2015) following Malik’s departure from the group.
In 2016, One Direction went on an infinite hiatus.
Liam reportedly fell from a hotel in Buenos, Argentina on Wednesday around 5pm (ART)
Over the years, Liam has also battled with health struggles as well as alcoholism and suicidal thoughts.
In 2021, while on the Diary Of A CEO podcast, he opened up about suffering from depression and substance abuse during his time with One Direction.
‘I was worried how far my rock bottom was going to be. Where’s rock bottom for me? And you would never have seen it. I’m very good at hiding it. No one would ever have seen it.’
When host questioned if Liam’s dark thoughts included ‘suicidal ideation,’ the singer said ‘Yes.’
‘Yeah. There is some stuff that I have definitely never, never spoken about. It was really, really, really severe. It was a problem. And it was only until I saw myself after that I was like, “Right, I need to fix myself”.’
Payne recalled seeing photos of himself looking ‘bloated’ which he labelled as his ‘pills-and-booze face.’
‘My face was just, like, 10 times more than it is now. I just didn’t like myself very much, and then I made a change.’
Over the years, Liam has also battled with health struggles as well as alcoholism and suicidal thoughts; seen in 2021 in London
Last year in August, Payne was hospitalised with a severe kidney infection while on a trip to Lake Como in Italy.
The illness prompted him to cancel his South American tour to give him time to recover and shared the news to social media at the time.
‘It’s with a heavy heart I have to tell you that we have no other choice but to postpone my upcoming tour of South America.’
He added: ‘Over the past week I’ve been in hospital with a serious kidney infection, it’s something I wouldn’t wish on anyone, and doctors orders are that I now need to rest and recover.’
‘I was beyond excited to come play for you guys. To all of you who have bought tickets: I’m so sorry.’
Following the hospitalisation, his concerned friends told The Sun that Payne had ‘struggled’ to cope following his years with One Direction.
Following the hospitalisation, his concerned friends told The Sun that Payne had ‘struggled’ to cope following his years with One Direction; seen in 2010 in London
‘It doesn’t come as a huge surprise – his lifestyle has been on a bit of a downward spiral for a while,’ a pal told the outlet.
‘Liam struggled so much in the band due to the heavy workload and being in the spotlight.’
‘He was just a normal lad before One Direction, so living life in this bubble felt alien to him and the restrictions really took their toll,’ the source continued.
‘His partying since the band’s break could well be a reaction to this.’