Perrie Edwards says Liam Payne’s death 'absolutely devastated' her in emotional interview

29 October 2024, 11:32 | Updated: 29 October 2024, 12:11

Perrie Edwards has opened up about the death of Liam Payne. Picture: Happy Place With Fearne Cotton

By Tiasha Debray

Perrie Edwards opened up about the death of Liam Payne as she compared their careers and the heavy price of fame.

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Perrie Edwards has always been closely entwined with the One Direction boys. Not only did her band Little Mix, with Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall and Jesy Nelson, rise to fame in the same way One Direction did, but Perrie was even engaged to ex-One Directioner Zayn Malik for a point in time.

So it’s no surprise that the news of the death of Liam Payne affected her very deeply and personally as she opened up about the experience on a podcast, saying the news was "heartbreaking" and that she didn’t "think it was real."

Liam sadly passed away at the age of 31 on October 16th after falling to his death from his hotel balcony in Argentina.

Fans mourned Liam’s passing especially as the young singer openly struggled with mental health issues and it’s this fact that Perrie also heavily related to, alongside her own struggles with anxiety.

Read more: Liam Payne's first posthumous single release date has been announced
Read more: Liam Payne fans set up viral petition to change mental health laws in the music industry

Perrie has openly discussed her own struggles with anxiety. Picture: Getty

Speaking on Fearne Cotton's ‘Happy Place’ podcast, Perrie shared that she felt "weird" about Liam’s death and she found it "absolutely devastating".

"I think it just feels weird, it’s just so sad. It’s so heartbreaking, and my heart honestly hurts for his family, his friends, Cheryl, his little boy. It’s just absolutely devastating, and I can’t even imagine how they must be feeling right now.”

Perrie then revealed she found the news hard to believe when it was first made public, and sought the comfort of the other girls in Little Mix when faced with the reality of the situation.

"I didn’t think it was real when I read it, and it’s a very weird space, and I think it’s in the air, everyone can feel it, it’s really sad. Us girls were messaging, and I think Leigh-Anne was like, ‘It’s very close to home’, our careers were very aligned.”

Little Mix formed in 2011. Picture: Getty

Leigh-Anne was perhaps highlighting that both Little Mix and One Direction formed in 2010 and 2011’s X Factor competition. The individual members of both bands originally auditioned on the reality talent show as solo artists and were put together to form groups before both bands skyrocketed to success.

"We had a relationship with them [One Direction], and it’s honestly so sad, like it made my body feel weird when I saw the headlines, I was like that can’t be real,” Perrie went on to say on the podcast. “It shakes you up, it’s just blooming awful, and all of our hearts go out to his family. It’s an unthinkable thing to have to go through.”

With both band members shooting to fame at such a young age, it’s no surprise that their success came at quite a price.

Liam's sudden death devastated the singer. Picture: Getty

On the podcast, Perrie was questioned about this very cost, to which she responded: "Success is completely different to fame, and I think success is lovely, it’s joyful, it’s like you’re doing what you love and you’re benefiting from it, and you get all these lovely things, and it feels great.”

"But then the fame is like the awful side of it, it’s like the dark side of it that I think people don’t really see. I was like, I want to be a famous pop star, I want to sign autographs, and everybody to know who I am, and I want to be a household name.”

"But you don’t think of the things that come with that, and it’s hard, and it’s really intense, but I think that’s why I try and surround myself with as many people as I can, that just makes me feel good when I’m feeling crap. My therapist bless her, I bring her with me to work sometimes, because I literally can’t cope with the panic attacks and stuff."