Liam Payne ‘lacked a sense of belonging and felt lost’ says pal Ant Middleton after his tragic death aged 31 – and claims One Direction star’s ‘face lit up’ when he thought about reuniting with band

Ant Middleton has told how his pal Liam Payne ‘lacked a sense of belonging’ and felt ‘lost’ following One Direction’s split as he reflected on their friendship amid the singer’s tragic death.

The former boy band member, 31, reportedly fell from the third floor of CasaSur Palmero Hotel in Buenos Aires shortly after 5pm on Wednesday evening. 

The SAS star formed a close bond with the singer when they filmed the documentary Ant Middleton & Liam Payne: Straight Talking in 2019, in which they spent three days in Namibia.

And speaking on Thursday’s Good Morning Britain, Ant shared his devastation of Liam’s death, having being told of his passing live on air earlier in the morning during an appearance on Australia’s The Morning Show. 

Looking back at the main he knew, Ant praised Liam for being ‘such a positive, outgoing guy’, before going on to say he believed ‘lacked sense of belonging when left band.’

Ant went on to say that he related to Liam as he too ‘lost a sense of belonging’ when he left the military.

He said: ‘When we did our special together in Namibia I could relate to that. 

‘When I left the military, I lost my sense of being, and when he left the band we had a great conversation about how that identity is lost and how we re-identify ourselves and re-establish ourselves.

‘And we became very close after that.’

Referring to Liam as his ‘little brother’, Ant told how at one point he lived just an hour away from the star, revealing how they’d spend many evenings together in which they’d discuss their directions in life.

Discussing Liam with hosts Richard Madeley and Kate Garraway, Ant also discussed the demons his friend faced, admitting he felt Liam was ‘lost’ as he tried to navigate life outside of the boy band – who went on indefinite hiatus in 2016.

He explained: ‘If you don’t focus enough on something or belonging then yeah, you do get lost. I felt that Liam had that sometimes.

‘During Soccer Aid, I remember he phoned me up to come training with him and he was so focused, he was so dedicated because he was captain for the England team and I knew that was his new belonging.’

Ant continued: ‘He was so focused, and clean and he was doing so well, and I believe that once those sort of things left him, he was looking for something again. It’s sad to see him bumping his head against a brick wall sometimes.’

During the interview, Ant also told how Liam was ‘very emotionally intelligent’ and had a ‘great energy about him’, with the ‘proud dad’ often talking of his son Bear.  

Ant and Liam first met at the opening of Mark Wahlberg’s Wahlburgers restaurant in Covent Garden, London.

Ant previously told The Standard, they would regularly meet for coffees and chat about each other’s children.

He explained he could relate to Liam’s isolation and struggle to re-enter the civilian world post being a part of the century’s biggest boy band.

Liam also revealed at the time, how he would confide in Ant, admitting: ‘I’ve more or less told Ant everything.’

‘I think in the situation where we were it was a release for both of us in a way. And there were things I’ve never really spoken about before.’

The documentary forced long, candid discussions about fatherhood, drinking, and relationships between the two famous men. 

The pair had no camera, no cell service, and no fans. 

During their time together, Liam admitted to Ant that becoming a dad at the age of 23 ‘messed him up’. 

‘Cheryl’s [Cole] still the most important person in my life,’ he said in the documentary, referring to his ex-partner and his son Bear’s mother. 

‘They say that the age you enter fame is the age you leave it,’ Liam added in now-haunting remarks as he reflected on the lasting impacts of One Direction. 

‘I’m quite lucky to be here still.’

Liam died in Buenos Aires after falling from a hotel. Several witnesses said Payne had fallen from his room at the Casa Sur Palmero Hotel shortly after 5pm (ART) Wednesday evening. 

The English star rose to fame as a member of the boy band One Direction, alongside his former bandmates Harry, 30, Niall Horan, 31, Zayn Malik, 31, and Louis Tomlinson, 32. 

The popstar had reportedly arrived in the Latin American country earlier this month to attend his ex bandmate Horan’s concert.

Local police have since launched an investigation into the sudden death, as tributes flood in the wake of the tragedy. 

A statement from local police said they arrived to the hotel after they were ‘informed of an aggressive man who may have been under the effects of drugs and alcohol’.

Officials heard a loud sound in the courtyard before discovering his body just after 5pm, reported the BBC.

According to TMZ, Liam ‘had been acting erratic in the hotel lobby and smashed his laptop’ before he ‘had to be carried back to his room’.

Police had received a call from a worker at the hotel requesting urgent help with an intoxicated guest, according to audio related to the case obtained from the Buenos Aires security ministry.

‘When he is conscious he is destroying the entire room and we need you to send someone,’ the worker said.

Emergency medical services director Alberto Crescenti said Liam had suffered ‘very serious injuries after falling from a third floor into an internal courtyard’.

‘We verified his identity using the passport he had,’ he said.

‘Afterwards we found out he had been a famous singer. Unfortunately the injuries he had suffered as a result of the fall proved to be fatal. There was no possibility of resuscitating him.’ 

Mr Crescenti told Argentine newspaper Clarin that ‘the team saw that he apparently had a fracture at the base of the skull’.

His body was transported to a local morgue where a post-mortem examination will be carried out.

Unverified pictures have since emerged online claiming to be Liam’s hotel room completely trashed with one image showing a smashed television screen