Zayn Malik's tragic Liam Payne regret and fraught relationship after One Direction

Zayn Malik once described his late bandmate Liam Payne as his 'brother' - and like many siblings, the pair navigated many highs and lows together.

The two One Direction stars, who both rose to fame before their 18th birthdays on The X Factor, grew up together as part of one of the biggest boybands in British history. And for all the joys that came with performing and travelling the world side by side, it proved to be a uniquely intense situation at times.

Today, Liam's family and friends will pay their final respects at a private funeral service held at a church in the Home Counties. The ceremony will be closed to members of the public, many of whom have paid tribute to the beloved singer in their own way in the month since his tragic death.

A memorial in Liam's hometown in Wolverhampton remains overflowing with flowers, letters, candles, balloons, teddies and photos, left by those who've been inspired by Liam's life and music.

On October 16, Liam fell to his death from the third-floor balcony of his Buenos Aires hotel room. He was just 31 years old and left behind his seven-year-old son, Bear. The tragedy occurred shortly after Liam reunited with bandmate Niall Horan at a gig in Argentia, explaining to fans beforehand that he'd wanted to 'square up a couple things with the boy'.

Sadly, Zayn, 31, never got the chance to reconcile his complicated relationship with Liam, after their fair share of disagreements behind the scenes. But it's clear the two always had love for each other. In a heartbreaking statement shared after Liam's tragic death last month, Zayn shared that he regretted 'butting heads' with the 'opinionated' singer, admitting that he'd always secretly respected his 'headstrong' bandmate.

In a poignant tribute post shared via social media, Zayn wrote: "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.

"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."

He added: "Even though we butted heads because of this a few times, I always secretly respected you for it. When it came to the music Liam, you were the most qualified in every sense. I knew nothing in comparison; l was a novice child with no experience, and you were already a professional."

Even though they had their differences, it was clear Liam cared deeply about Zayn, who left One Direction in 2015 for multiple reasons, including apparent tensions within the band. In the summer of 2023, Zayne shed some light on the group dynamics during an appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast - his first interview in six years.

Zayn, who broke the hearts of countless ardent fans when he quit the group, said: "There was obviously underlying issues within our friendships, too. We'd got sick of each other if I'm being completely honest. We were close, you know? We'd done crazy things with each other that nobody else in the world will ever understand and I look back on it now in a much fonder light than I would have when I'd just left."

In May 2022, Liam appeared on Logan Paul's Impaulsive podcast, where he spoke with empathy about his and Zayn's very different upbringings. Wolverhampton-born 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."

In the same interview, Liam also revealed that he 'hated' one of his former bandmates, confessing: "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."

In the aftermath of these comments, speculation grew that Liam was talking about Zayn, especially after the Pillowtalk singer uploaded a clip of himself singing along to his riff from You & I - One Direction's hit about a difficult relationship. He later took the video down.

One month later, Liam addressed the comments in a post that shut down rumours of a feud between himself and Zayn. Taking to social media platform X, Liam 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."

Doubling down on these comments in a YouTube video shared in July 2023, Liam admitted that a lot of what he'd said on the shock podcast episode had 'come from the wrong place'. He 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."

"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."

It is believed that the One Direction bandmates will be attending today's service, with Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn reuniting for the first time in nine years. Liam's girlfriend Kate Cassidy is also expected to attend along with X Factor judge Simon Cowell.

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