Naomi Campbell is sharing her reaction to Liam Payne’s death for the first time.
The supermodel, 54, commented on Nicole Scherzinger’s Friday, Oct. 25 Instagram post honoring Payne following his death on Oct. 16.
Scherzinger, 46, discussed her friendship over the years with Payne while passing on her condolences to his family and friends, while Campbell shared her response to the emotional tribute in the comment section, posting, “?️??️??.”
PEOPLE has contacted Campbell’s representatives for further comment.
Payne died at the age of 31 after falling multiple stories at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Oct. 16, Policía Federal Argentina confirmed to PEOPLE.
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Campbell and Payne first sparked rumors of a romance in early 2019, after being photographed at several of the same events and exchanging flirty messages on social media.
The pair attended a Formula E event in Hong Kong in March of that year, though they were not photographed together, according to The Sun. That same month, U.K. newspaper Metro said Campbell and Payne attended an event at London’s National Portrait Gallery.
The supermodel and late singer also exchanged flirty messages on Instagram at the time of the dating rumors. In January 2019, Campbell commented, “Beautiful soul” under a shirtless photo of Payne as he wrote days later in a response to a selfie Campbell posted, “Perfection in a person…”
While appearing on Watch What Happens Live in December 2019, Payne refused to comment on the romance rumors when questioned by host Andy Cohen during a game of “Plead the Fifth.”
“I plead the fifth — it’s my right as a human,” he joked on the show at the time.
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Campbell also refused to comment on the dating rumors between the pair as she appeared on The Jonathan Ross Show in March 2019. “I never discuss my personal life,” she responded when asked about the nature of her relationship with Payne.
Campbell’s reaction to Scherzinger’s tribute to Payne comes as the singer and talent show host spoke of her bond with Payne after working with him at the start of his career as part of the band One Direction on The X Factor.
“Dear Liam, I will forever cherish and treasure the time we shared together, from fifteen years ago when One Direction was born, right up until just a few weeks ago,” Scherzinger wrote alongside two photos of her, Payne and Kelly Rowland.
“It was such a blessing to get to work with you recently. We shared the same love and passion for music and I will forever remember the meaningful and joyful conversations we had,” the former Pussycat Dolls star continued. “It’s been so hard to process that you’re no longer here … I will ‘miss you’ my friend and carry you in my heart.”
