Simon Cowell had to 'disappear' after Liam Payne’s death as he was 'really struggling'

Simon Cowell had to “disappear” after Liam Payne’s death, as he was “really, really struggling”.

The One Direction star was just 31 when he tragically died in October 2024, falling from a balcony on the third-floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the media mogul - who discovered Payne during auditions for The X Factor in 2010 and launched his career as a member of One Direction - has revealed his heartbreaking reaction to the singer's death, having stayed close with the members of the boy band.

Speaking on the Daily Mail’s Tales From the Celebrity Trenches podcast, he said: “What do you do in a situation like that? It was so bad, I was in pieces. There were so many things going on in my head.

“I literally just disappeared somewhere for a week to think everything through because I knew I was really, really struggling.”

Liam, alongside Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Niall Horan, didn't win the X Factor, but they were quickly signed to Simon's Syco record label, and went on to achieve global success with chart-topping hits including What Makes You Beautiful and Best Song Ever.