He was the cheerful Brummie who couldn’t believe his luck when he became one fifth of X Factor phenomenon One Direction.
But last night singer Liam Payne was found dead after falling from the third floor of a hotel in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires. It is not known whether it was intentional or not.
He was found on Wednesday in the CasaSur Palermo hotel.
Friends of the 31-year-old star were shocked by the news which came just days after his ex-girlfriend Maya Henry hired lawyers as she began legal action against Liam after accusing him of obsessive contact and ‘weaponizing’ his fans against her.
His death came just hours after he posed for a photo with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy on Snapchat.
Singer Liam Payne was found dead last night after falling from the third floor of a hotel in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires.
First responders arrive at the hotel where Liam was found dead
He was found on Wednesday in the CasaSur Palermo hotel
He was dressed topless, wearing only a white baseball cap backwards and black shorts, smiling with the American beauty.
A friend told the Mail: ‘Liam was struggling, he just wanted to be a good person.
‘This is a terrible, terrible tragedy. Nobody can believe it. He has the world at his feet, he worked so hard, but he couldn’t completely overcome his pain.’
Witnesses say Liam was found in the Argentine capital shortly after 5 p.m.
Witnesses said he had previously been behaving erratically in the hotel lobby. He was seen smashing his laptop and had to be carried back to his room.
Emergency services are believed to be present outside the hotel, where a red tent has been set up on site. It is believed that the police investigation into this death is ongoing.
Liam is said to have had a tense relationship with his ex-girlfriend Cheryl Tweedy, the mother of his five-year-old son Bear.
There have been fears about Liam for a while now. Last September he was hospitalized in Italy with a serious illness that was causing him pain.
Liam was in ‘bad’ condition when he was treated in Lake Como with his American girlfriend Kate, his friends, fans and even his own mother had to fear for his health – and even for his future.
Liam pictured here with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy at Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland in October 2022
Witnesses say Liam was found in the Argentine capital shortly after 5 p.m
Liam (far right) pictured in August 2013 with his One Direction bandmates Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Harry Styles in London’s Leicester Square for the world premiere of the band’s This Is Us film
For those who know Liam well, it wasn’t a big surprise. For several years, those close to him have been concerned for his well-being as he struggles with global fame and grueling tour schedules.
It is clear to those who know Liam that he has not been well for some time.
In a video, he posted to his 26 million Instagram followers that he was canceling a series of concerts in South America after suffering a “serious” kidney infection last September and was left looking disheveled.
Dressed in a beige hoodie, he assured them that this was something he did “with a heavy heart.”
Despite the news sinking in, there has been a broader fear for Liam for years.
Indeed, he also seemed perturbed when he arrived at an Oscars party last year and appeared to grin as he gave an interview to Good Morning Britain in a strange transatlantic accent.
Although he is believed to have struggled with life after One Direction, friends say he was a ‘sensitive soul’ before he even arrived for his X Factor audition.
One said: ‘There might be a reason why some people seek fame, because Liam was very inward looking and in touch with his feelings from an early age. Then, bang, you’re singing in front of millions of people on the X Factor. And then almost overnight you become one of the most recognizable people in the world.”