Ant Middleton has told how his friend 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 old boy band member, 31 years old, supposedly fell from the third floor of the CasaSur Palmero Hotel in Buenos Aires shortly after five p.m. on Wednesday.
The SAS star formed a close bond with the singer when they filmed the documentary Ant Middleton & Liam Payne: Straight Talking in 2019, which saw them spend three days in Namibia.
And speaking on Thursday’s Good Morning Britain, Ant shared his devastation at Liam’s death, having been informed of his passing live earlier in the morning during an appearance on Australia’s The Morning Show.
Looking back at the main thing he knew, Ant praised Liam for being “such a positive, outgoing guy”, before going on to say that he believed he “lacked a sense of belonging when he left the band”.
Ant Middleton has told how his friend 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 31-year-old former boy band member allegedly fell from the third floor of the CasaSur Palmero hotel in Buenos Aires shortly after 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
Ant went on to say that he identified with Liam because he too “lost his sense of belonging” when he left the army.
He said: ‘When we did our special together in Namibia, I identified with that.
‘When I left the army, I lost my sense of self, and when he left the band we had a great conversation about how you lose that identity and how we reidentify and re-establish ourselves.
“And after that we became very close.”
Referring to Liam as his “little brother”, Ant told how at one point he lived just an hour away from the star, and revealed how they spent many nights together discussing their directions in life.
Speaking about Liam with hosts Richard Madeley and Kate Garraway, Ant also opened up about the demons his friend faced, admitting he felt Liam was “lost” as he tried to navigate life outside of the boy band, which went on indefinite hiatus. in 2016.
He explained: “If you don’t focus enough on something or belonging, then yes, you get lost.” I felt like Liam had that sometimes.
“During Soccer Aid, I remember he called me to go train with him and he was very focused, very dedicated because he was captain of the England team and I knew that was his new belonging.”
“When I left the military, I lost my sense of self, and when he left the band we had a great conversation about how you lose that identity and how we reidentify and reestablish ourselves.”
Speaking about Liam with hosts Richard Madeley and Kate Garraway, Ant also opened up about the demons his friend faced, admitting he felt Liam was “lost” as he tried to navigate life outside the boy band.
‘If you don’t concentrate enough on something or a belonging, then yes, you get lost. I felt like Liam had that sometimes’
Ant continued: “He was very focused and clean and doing very well, and I think once that sort of thing left him he was looking for something again.” “It’s sad to see him sometimes hit his head against a brick wall.”
During the interview, Ant also told how Liam was “very emotionally intelligent” and had “great energy”, and the “proud father” often spoke about his son Bear.
Ant and Liam met for the first time at the opening of Mark Wahlberg’s Wahlburgers restaurant in Covent Garden, London.
Ant previously told The StandardThey met regularly for coffee and chat about each other’s children.
He explained that he could identify with Liam’s isolation and struggle to re-enter the civilian world after being part of the biggest boy band of the century.
Liam also revealed at the time how he would trust Ant, admitting: “I’ve pretty much told Ant everything.”
“I think the situation we were in was, in a way, a release for both of us. And there were things I had never talked about before.
The SAS star said Liam, who joined him to film the documentary Ant Middleton & Liam Payne: Straight Talking in 2019, was like a little brother to him.
They spent three days in Namibia filming the series and forged a strong bond running from lions, surfing on freight trains, rappelling and sleeping under the stars.
The documentary forced long, candid discussions about fatherhood, drinking, and relationships between the two famous men.
The couple had no camera, cell service or fans.
During their time together, Liam admitted to Ant that becoming a father at the age of 23 “ruined him.”
“Cheryl (Cole) is still the most important person in my life,” he said in the documentary, referring to his ex-partner and mother of his son Bear.
“They say the age you enter fame is the age you leave it,” Liam added in now disturbing comments as he reflected on the lasting impacts of One Direction.
“I’m very lucky to still be here.”
Liam died in Buenos Aires after falling from a hotel. Several witnesses said Payne had fallen from his room at the Hotel Casa Sur Palmero shortly after 5 pm (ART) on Wednesday night.
Several witnesses said Payne had fallen from his room at the Hotel Casa Sur Palmero shortly after 5 pm (ART) on Wednesday night; seen in 2018
The pop star had reportedly arrived in the Latin American country earlier this month to attend his former bandmate Niall Horan’s concert.
Heartbreaking video shows Liam singing and dancing at Horan’s concert in Argentina just days before he was found dead.
Payne’s final disturbing social media post showed him spending time with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy.
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 malik31, and Luis Tomlinson32.
The pop star had reportedly arrived in the Latin American country earlier this month to attend his former bandmate Horan’s concert.
Local police have since launched an investigation into the sudden death, as tributes flood in in the wake of the tragedy.
A statement from local police said they arrived at the hotel after being “reported of an aggressive man who may have been under the influence of drugs and alcohol.”
Authorities heard a loud sound in the yard before discovering his body shortly after 5 p.m., the BBC reported.
According TMZLiam “had been acting erratically in the hotel lobby and smashed his laptop” before he “had to be taken back to his room.”
Police had received a call from a hotel worker requesting urgent help for a drunk guest, according to audio related to the case obtained from the Buenos Aires Ministry of Security.
“When he’s conscious, he’s destroying the entire room and we need someone to be sent,” the worker said.
The director of emergency medical services, Alberto Crescenti, said Liam had suffered “very serious injuries after falling from a third floor into an interior courtyard.”
“We verified his identity using the passport he had,” he said.
‘Later we discovered that he had been a famous singer. Unfortunately, the injuries he had suffered as a result of the fall proved fatal. There was no possibility of resuscitating him.’
Crescenti told Argentine newspaper Clarín that “the team saw that he apparently had a fracture at the base of his skull.”
His body was taken to the local morgue where an autopsy will be performed.
Unverified images claiming to be Liam’s hotel room completely trashed have since emerged online, with one image showing a smashed TV screen.