It’s a horrifically sad day for all One Direction fans. Liam Payne is gone.
Liam died on Wednesday after falling from the third floor of the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was just 31.
As a fan who has followed Liam’s career since the very beginning, from One Direction’s meteoric rise to his solo success, I’ve been lucky enough to meet him on several occasions.
And despite the chaos that comes with fame, each time he was kind and generous.
But there was a dark side too – a side I saw during his last visit to Australia and it will haunt me forever.
I’ve spent over $10,000 on concert tickets, VIP packages and even flights overseas just for a chance to see One Direction.
It wasn’t enough to simply listen to the music. I needed to be there, to feel the energy of the crowd and to catch a glimpse of the boys in person.
In 2013, I travelled to Los Angeles for the Teen Choice Awards where I finally met them.
I got my photo and chatted with Zayn, Niall, and Louis, but Liam was whisked away by security before I could even say hello. It stung but I brushed it off, hoping I’d have other chances.
And I did. I finally met Liam in 2018 when he came to Sydney to perform at The Everest.
That night I stood at the side of the stage, watching as he spent nearly 45 minutes taking selfies, signing autographs and chatting with fans.
He made everyone feel special, not just another face in the crowd.
That’s who Liam was. Despite his global fame he never acted too big for his fans. He gave so much of himself – always with a smile, always with a kind word.
A few days later I got a tip-off about where he’d be dining and like the dedicated fan I am I hopped in my car and went.
True to form, Liam took the time to pose for photos with everyone there, smiling and chatting before heading inside.
It was moments like these that made me love him even more. Not as a pop star, but as a genuinely kind person who cared.
But then there was another night, a night that felt different and has lingered in my mind ever since.
I met Liam at popular Japanese restaurant Sokyo at The Star. He had been drinking, and while he still smiled for photos something was off.
His eyes carried a weight I hadn’t seen before, a sadness that ran deep.
People around him treated him like an object, snapping pictures without saying a word and then walking away.
It was heartbreaking to watch. Here was someone who gave so much of himself, who was adored by millions and yet in that moment he seemed so alone.
It was a stark reminder of the ugly side of fame – the side that can take a person and reduce them to something to be consumed rather than someone to be cherished.
Hearing the news today it’s unbearably sad. I’ve received messages from other Directioners all saying the same thing – they wish he knew how deeply he was loved.
Fame can be cruel, and while we will never truly know what was going through Liam’s mind I hope he knew that to many of us he wasn’t just a pop star.
He was Liam – a kind, generous soul who always had time for his fans even when it must have been hard.
