Ant Middleton responded to the news of the death of his friend Liam Payne during a live interview on Thursday morning.
The former One Direction member, 31, is said to have fallen from the third floor of the CasaSur Palmero Hotel in Buenos Aires shortly after 5pm on Wednesday evening.
Ant, 44, held back tears as he shared some of his most memorable moments with the singer on The Morning Show.
The SAS star said Liam, who filmed the documentary Ant Middleton & Liam Payne: Straight Talking with him in 2019, was like a little brother to him.
They spent three days in Namibia filming the series and forged a strong bond by running from lions, surfing freight trains, rappelling and sleeping under the stars.
‘We bonded. He was my brother. He was like a younger brother to me. He confided in me,” said an emotional Ant as he choked back tears.
‘I’d go by and see him. You know, there were some problems, but nothing that wouldn’t bother a young celebrity of his caliber.”
“So I’m just shocked right now. I don’t really know what to say.’
Ant Middleton held back tears as he responded to news of his friend Liam Payne’s death during a live interview on Thursday morning
Ant and Liam first met at the opening of Mark Wahlberg’s Wahlburgers restaurant in Covent Garden, London.
Ant previously told The Standardthey met regularly for coffee and talking about each other’s children.
He explained that he could identify with it Liam’s isolation and struggle to re-enter the civilian world is part of the biggest boy band of the century.
Liam also revealed at the time how he would confide in Ant, admitting: ‘I’ve told Ant more or less everything.’
“I think in a way, in the situation we were in, it was liberating for both of us. And there were things I never really talked about.”
The SAS star said Liam, who filmed the documentary Ant Middleton & Liam Payne: Straight Talking with him in 2019, was like a little brother to him
They spent three days in Namibia filming the series and forged a strong bond by running from lions, surfing freight trains, rappelling and sleeping under the stars.
The documentary forced long, frank discussions about fatherhood, drinking and relationships between the two famous men.
The couple had no camera, no cell service and no fans.
During their time together, Liam admitted to Ant that becoming a father at the age of 23 ‘confused him’.
‘From Cheryl [Cole] still the most important person in my life,” he said in the documentary, referring to his ex-partner and the mother of his son Bear.
“They say the age you become famous is the age you leave it,” Liam added in chilling comments as he reflected on One Direction’s lasting impact.
“I’m lucky I’m still here.”
The documentary forced long, frank discussions about fatherhood, drinking and relationships between the two famous men
Liam is said to have fallen from a hotel in Buenos, Argentina around 5pm on Wednesday (ART).
Police in Buenos Aires said last night that they initially responded to a 911 call “of an aggressive male who may have been under the influence of drugs and alcohol.”
Officials heard a loud noise in the courtyard before discovering his body just after 5 p.m., the BBC reported.
According to TMZ, Liam had “behaved erratically in the hotel lobby and destroyed his laptop” before having to be “carried back to his room.”
Police had received a call from a hotel employee requesting urgent assistance for a drunken guest, according to audio material on the case obtained from Buenos Aires’ Ministry of Security.
“If he’s conscious, he’ll destroy the whole room and we’ll have to send someone,” the worker said.
Emergency Medical Services Director Alberto Crescenti said Liam suffered “very serious injuries after falling from a third floor into a courtyard.”
“We verified his identity using the passport he had,” he said.
Mr Crescenti told Argentina’s Clarin newspaper that “the team saw that he apparently had a fracture at the base of the skull.”
His body was taken to a local mortuary where a post-mortem examination will be carried out.
Unverified photos have since emerged online claiming it is Liam’s hotel room, completely destroyed, with one image of a broken television screen.
Last night, tearful fans hugged each other as they gathered and lit candles outside the hotel where Liam’s body was found.
It showed a woman sitting on the sidewalk with her head between her knees.
The Night Changes singer was spotted at his former bandmate Niall Horan’s concert in the country earlier this month.
Ant previously told The Standard that they regularly met for coffee and talked about each other’s children
In 2008, Liam started his music career after auditioning for The X Factor at the age of 14, in front of judges Simon Cowell, Cheryl, Louis Walsh and Dannii Minogue.
He was removed from the competition series but returned in 2010 and joined Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson to form the boy band One Direction.
The group reached third place on The X Factor and became a global sensation, with hits such as What Makes You Beautiful and Live While We’re Young.
The band released five studio albums including Up All Night (2011), Midnight Memories (2013) and Made In The AM (2015) following Malik’s departure from the group.
In 2016, One Direction went on a never-ending hiatus.
Liam reportedly fell from a hotel in Buenos, Argentina around 5 p.m. on Wednesday (ART)
Over the years, Liam has also struggled with health problems, alcoholism and suicidal thoughts.
In 2021, while we are on the Diary of a CEO podcast, he opened up about suffering from depression and substance abuse during his time with One Direction.
‘I was afraid of how far my lowest point would go. Where is the low point for me? And you would never have seen it. I’m very good at hiding it. No one would have ever seen it.’
When the host wondered if Liam’s dark thoughts included “suicidal thoughts,” the singer said, “Yes.”
‘Yes. There are some things that I have absolutely never, ever talked about. It was really, really bad. It was a problem. And it wasn’t until I saw myself afterwards that I thought, “Okay, I have to fix myself.”‘
Payne recalled seeing photos of him looking “bloated,” which he labeled as his “pills-and-booze face.”
‘My face looked about ten times the way it looks now. I just didn’t like myself that much, and then I made a change.”
Over the years, Liam has also struggled with health problems, alcoholism and suicidal thoughts; seen in 2021 in London
Last August, Payne was hospitalized with a serious kidney infection during a trip to Lake Como in Italy.
The illness prompted him to cancel his South American tour to give him time to recover, and he shared the news on social media at the time.
“It is with a heavy heart that I have to tell you that we have no choice but to postpone my upcoming tour of South America.”
He added: ‘For the past week I have been in hospital with a serious kidney infection, something I wouldn’t wish on anyone, and as per doctor’s orders I must now rest and recover.’
“I was beyond excited to come play for you guys. To everyone who bought tickets, I am so sorry.”
After the hospital admission, his concerned friends said The sun that Payne had ‘struggled’ to cope after his years with One Direction.
After the hospital admission, his concerned friends told The Sun that Payne had ‘struggled’ to cope with his years in One Direction; seen in 2010 in London
“It doesn’t come as a huge surprise: his lifestyle has been on a downward spiral for a while,” a friend told the outlet.
‘Liam had such a hard time in the band because of the heavy workload and being in the spotlight.’
“Before One Direction, he was a regular guy, so living in this bubble felt foreign to him and the restrictions were really taking their toll,” the source continued.
“His partying since the band split could be a response to this.”