Simon Cowell was seen heading to Liam Payne’s funeral.
The X-Factor judge who united Liam and his One Direction bandmates appeared glum as he arrived. He walked hand-in-hand with his fiancee Lauren Silverman. The two wore matching black suits as they arrived.
Liam Payne was honored at a memorial service on Wednesday, November 20 in the Home Counties. The One Direction singer died on October 16 at the young age of 31 when he fell off of his third floor balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
When Liam’s death was first announced, Simon Cowell posted a heartfelt tribute on social media.
It read: “You never really know how you feel about someone until a moment like this happens. Liam, I am devastated. Heartbroken. And I feel empty. And I want you to know how much love and respect I have for you. Every tear I have shed is a memory of you.
“This is so difficult to put into words right now. I went outside today, and I thought about so many times we had together. I wanted to let you know what I would always say to the thousands of people who would always ask me. What is Liam like? And I would tell them you were kind, funny, sweet, thoughtful, talented, humble, focused. And how much you loved music. And how much love you genuinely had for the fans.”
Fans and friends were able to say their final goodbyes today at the musician’s private funeral.
His 1D bandmates, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan, reunited at his funeral for the first time in almost a decade. They all arrived together wearing all-black and sunglasses. The band was formed on the TV show The X-Factor in 2010 by Nicole Scherzinger and later managed by Simon Cowell.
Zayn had left the group in 2015 and the boy band went on an indefinite “hiatus” shortly after. Cowell, Liam’s former mentor, also attended the funeral today.
An insider revealed to The Sun about Liam’s funeral: “His family have gone to great lengths to put together the perfect service and give him the send-off he deserves. Liam may have been a global superstar but to [his parents] Geoff and Karen he will always be their little boy. It is going to be an incredibly difficult day.”
