Liam Payne's fraught friendship with Zayn Malik: 'He didn't even say goodbye'

While fans are still coming to terms with his death, Liam Payne's funeral on Wednesday saw his family and friends join together to say their final goodbyes to the One Direction star.

The private Buckinghamshire ceremony was attended by his parents, siblings, ex partner Cheryl Tweedy and their seven-year-old son Bear, who gathered under devastating circumstances to honour the late singer. While the investigation into his death continues, with three arrested so far, Liam's funeral also saw the reunion of his former One Direction bandmates - albeit in a situation none of them could have imagined.

One particular member of the band who Liam had a fraught relationship with was Zayn Malik. Although much was reported about their so-called feud, Zayn still saw Liam as a friend and he was among those left reeling from his sudden death in Argentina on October 16.

Zayn postponed his world tour to give himself time to grieve the loss of Liam, with him expected to perform his Leeds date on Saturday night. We look back at the ups and downs of their enduring friendship...

Early days

Liam and Zayn reportedly first met in a fast food joint and chatted over a McDonalds in 2008, according to an early interview with the pair. Throughout their early One Direction days, the pair made no secret of their close relationship. In fact, just a few months after they got together, in 2010, Zayn publicly replied to a fan on Twitter who asked: "Who are you closest to in the band?" Zayn didn't sugarcoat his reply, simply responding: "Liam Payne."

The pair's bromance often played out on Twitter (now known as X). In 2011, Liam tweeted: "#ZAYN IS PERFECT lol perfects the top 1 u can’t be more perfect that’s like saying I’m betterer he he :p".

A few days later, they promoted the Up All Night album by tweeting about each other. Zayn posted: "Check out Liam’s rippling Abs posing in this naughty picture. Make sure you get a copy!" Liam then tweeted: "Make sure you get a copy of this.. I mean.. Have you seen the ears on the boy." They would regularly tweet each other banter and jokes, with their exchanges showing how comfortable the friends were with each other.

Leaving One Direction in 2015

Liam and Zayn's friendship soured somewhat when the latter announced he was quitting the band in 2015. In a statement, Zayn said: "My life with One Direction has been more than I could ever have imagined. But, after five years, I feel like it is now the right time for me to leave the band. I’d like to apologise to the fans if I’ve let anyone down, but I have to do what feels right in my heart. I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight. I know I have four friends for life in Louis, Liam, Harry and Niall. I know they will continue to be the best band in the world.”

Although he initially showed support for Zayn's decision, Liam revealed later to Variety that there were behind-the-scenes tensions that contributed to his decision. He told the outlet: "There was obviously underlying issues within our friendships, too. We’d got sick of each other, if I’m being completely honest."

Friendship continued

Despite the difficulties facing the pair, Zayn said in a 2016 interview with NME that their friendship still continued virtually, although they hadn't met up for a "long time". Even after the band went their separate ways, Liam made sure to make time for Zayn. He told the music mag: "I’m still probably the closest to Liam. We talk on the phone… We haven’t met up in a long time so we want to meet up."

Although he and Liam were still in touch, the same couldn't be said for the rest of the band. Zayn added: "I tried to have contact, but nobody’s reached out. So… whatever."

Slogan shade

While presenting an award to James Corden at the Glamour Awards in 2017, Liam made a comment about his former bandmate Zayn, which fans were divided over the meaning of. Telling the audience that James used to be in a boyband himself, Liam revealed: "Their band was called Insatiable," adding that they also had a slogan. Leaning into the microphone, he quipped: "1D never had a slogan, but if we had, Zayn might have stayed.”

His remark caused fans to wonder whether he meant something by it, or the comment was made as a joke, further fuelling speculation over the state of their friendship at the time.

No goodbye

Liam later revealed that he had found Zayn's departure from 1D hard to move past, claiming he never said goodbye. Speaking to British GQ, Liam said: "I think with Zayn’s particular exit and the way he chose to go, we haven’t really heard from him since he left." He added: "He didn’t even say goodbye, if I am being honest. It was a really sordid scenario, from our side certainly. A bit strange. It’s difficult."

Liam and Zayn's fisticuffs

In May 2022, Liam told Logan Paul's Impaulsive podcast that he had empathy for Zayn, with the pair experiencing very different upbringings. Liam reflected: "My parents are overly supportive to the point where it's annoying at times. Zayn had a different upbringing in that sense. You can always look at the man for where he is and say, 'Oh, yeah, whatever, that guy's a d***' But at the end of the day, once you're understanding what he's been through to get to that point — and also whether or not he wanted to be there."

He also revealed in the chat that he 'hated' one of his former bandmates, admitting: "Like, come to blows hate each other, it was close. There was one moment where there was an argument backstage, and one member in particular threw me up a wall."

Liam later shut down rumours of a feud, addressing the comments in a post on social media platform X. He posted: "I wouldn't normally comment on this stuff, but when it's your family, it's hard to let it slide. They mentioned a specific incident involving Zayn, which I responded to — but listening back, maybe I didn't articulate myself as well as I could have."

He continued: "I was saying that there will always be things we disagree on but that I will always, always be on his side. That's family. Zayn is my brother, and I will stand by him forever."

He brought the comments up again in July 2023 on YouTube, admitting he had misdirected anger at the time. Liam told fans: "I was so angry at what was going on around me, and instead of taking a look inwards, I decided to look outwards at everybody else, and I just think, yeah, I took it out on everybody else, which is just wrong, really." He added: "The rest of the boys really stuck by me when I needed them most, they kinda came to the rescue. Even Zayn, as well, which is why I did send him a little thank you online."

Instagram comment

Liam was spotted supporting his pal on an Instagram post last year, when Zayn shared new music. In the comments, Liam wrote: "This sounds big already," followed by a clapping hands emoji. Zayn wrote back: "Appreciate it bro, thanks for the love," proving there was no bad blood between the two.

Zayn's heartbreaking tribute

After Liam died, and following years of ups and downs between them, Zayn said that after it all, he wishes he had made more of an effort. The moving tribute read: "Liam, I have found myself talking out loud to you, hoping you can hear me, I can't help but think selfishly that there was so many more conversations for us to have in our lives. I never got to thank you for supporting me through some of the most difficult times in my life."

Zayn added: "When I was missing home as a 17 year old kid, you would always be there with a positive outlook and reassuring smile and let me know you were my friend and that I was loved. Even though you were younger than me you were always more sensible than me, you were headstrong, opinionated, and gave no f***s about telling people when they were wrong."

Following his heartfelt tribute, Zayn's sister Waliyha reshared a black and white photo of Liam and Zayn together in the past, posted by a fan account. She wrote over the image: "Give respect to Zayn, you don’t know what he’s going through. Today is a month since his brother has been gone."

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