Niall Horan is glad his final memory of Liam Payne is a 'happy' one

Niall Horan is glad his final memory of Liam Payne is a "happy" one.

The 32-year-old singer saw his One Direction bandmate in Argentina just days before his friend passed away in October 2024 after falling from his hotel balcony, and he will always be thankful they shared that time together, though he is still struggling to grasp the fact he'll never see him again.

Niall told the Sunday Times' Culture magazine: "I’m glad of that, it means my last memory of him was happy.

"It still feels surreal. On day one I was, like, ‘Nah, it didn’t happen.’ Our friendship was a bond that was there for ever even if we hadn’t seen each other for a while and it’s wild that one day, like the flick of a switch, he’s gone.”

The Slow Hands hitmaker explained there is "light and shade" to his grief because he enjoys thinking back to the good times they shared.

He explained: “When I think of Liam’s passing, there is sadness, but it also makes me laugh and smirk because of the memories we had.

"I’ll go to places and think of something stupid in a hotel or something random that makes me laugh.

"We always had good fun in Australia because we were able to get out and go to the beach. Liam wasn’t too bad at surfing. I can barely swim.”