In the hours before his death on October 16, Liam Payne shared snapshots of his vacation in Buenos Aires via Snapchat. Less than an hour after his final post, reports confirmed that the former One Direction singer had died after falling from a balcony. Payne was 31 years old.
Liam Payne Attended Former Bandmate’s Show
He had been in Argentina since early October, attending a concert by his former bandmate Niall Horan. In his final Snapchat posts, Payne appeared upbeat, sharing images of himself smiling and reflecting on his trip, even joking about dressing up as Forrest Gump for Halloween. He expressed gratitude for the getaway, captioning a photo of the scenery with, “Happy I got some time away [heart emoji].” His last image was a shirtless mirror selfie with his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, though it was revealed to have been taken a year earlier.
Singer Shared One Direction’s Throwback Photo
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Netflix’s New Music Competition Series
Payne’s Argentina trip followed news that he had signed on to participate in Netflix’s new music competition series Building the Band alongside Nicole Scherzinger, Kelly Rowland, and AJ McLean. Payne and Rowland were set to be judges on the show, which aimed to form a new band through a unique concept. Following his death, PEOPLE reached out to Netflix for comment on the future of the series.
In his personal life, Payne’s relationship with his ex-fiancée Maya Henry had recently garnered attention. Just days before his passing, Henry had reportedly issued a cease-and-desist order against him, accusing him of repeatedly contacting her through various means. Henry, who had spoken to PEOPLE about her emotionally challenging abortion earlier in the year, alleged on TikTok that Payne would message her using different phone numbers and iCloud accounts.
Local authorities in Buenos Aires confirmed that Payne died after falling from multiple stories at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel. The cause of his death is currently under investigation, and an autopsy will be performed. He is survived by his 7-year-old son, Bear Grey, whom he shares with singer Cheryl.
