Louis Tomlinson recalls the heartbreaking moment he learned of Liam Payne’s death as he pulled into the driveway of his home

One Direction star Louis Tomlinson remembers the moment he discovered his former bandmate Liam Payne had tragically died just as he pulled into the driveway of his home.

Tomlinson, 33, opened up about the traumatizing phone call that revealed Payne, who died in October 2024 aged 31, was dead, in a wide-ranging interview with host of the “Diary of a CEO“podcast, Steven Bartlett.

The singer revealed that he “found out through” a fellow bandmate Niall Horan while “in the car” in Los Angeles, having just gotten home from dropping off his son, Freddie Reign9 – which he shares with his ex, Briana Jungwirth—at school.

“I was in the car in LA and I just dropped Freddie off at school, my son, and we were about to drive back home,” he said.

‘Actually I found out through Niall. I think Niall said, “Boy, did you see the news?” and as soon as he said that, I knew more or less what he meant.

The singer further revealed that hearing of Payne’s passing brought back devastating memories of when his sister, Felicitydied in 2019 at the age of 18 from an accidental overdose.

“I had a similar feeling to Félicité. And I think everyone has this when they are around someone who is going through a hard time; my 150% was not nearly enough,” he added.

The singer noted that Payne was “definitely struggling at that point in his life.”

“And then it’s my own arrogance to think that I could have actually helped, because it went so much deeper than what I could have done for him,” he admitted.

The hitmaker then told the podcast host that he wanted Payne to be “remembered the way he should be remembered.”

“I could go on all day and talk about how great he was, but I think we all looked up to him. I don’t think we would have been brave enough to say that at that age, when I was in the band, I would have had too much pride, but we all looked up to him so much,” he added.

Payne died after falling from a third-floor balcony of a hotel in Argentina. His cause of death was determined to be various injuries and internal and external bleeding. Toxicology results showed he had alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in his system.

At the time of Payne’s death, Tomlinson shared a post on social media, writing that he had “lost a brother.”

“I feel beyond lucky to have had you in my life, but I’m really struggling with the idea of ​​saying goodbye. I’m so grateful that we’ve become even closer since bonding, talking on the phone for hours, reminiscing about all the thousands of amazing memories we had together is a luxury I thought I would have with you for life,” he said in the social media post.

In the weeks following his death, Payne’s former bandmates, including Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Zayn Malikand Horan, released a joint statement on his death, revealing they were “completely devastated” by the loss.

“Over time, and when everyone is able to do so, there will be more to say. But for now, we will take time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, whom we loved dearly,” they wrote.

“The memories we shared with him will be cherished forever. 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.”

Although Tomlinson’s primary residence is in England, he previously owned a Spanish Colonial-inspired home in the Hollywood Hills, which he purchased in 2016 for $7.3 million.

The property extended over 6,000 square meters and came complete with four bedrooms.

He ultimately sold the house in 2020 for $6.43 million, and it is unclear which Los Angeles home he was referring to in the podcast.