Hot Press is saddened to learn of the untimely passing of Liam Payne. The former member of One Direction died in Buenos Aires where he had recently attended former bandmate Niall Horan's headline show.

Having been one of the biggest pop bands in the world, One Direction announced that they were on indefinite hiatus in 2016. While there were consistent rumours of a One Direction re-union happening at some point, as the members solo careers diverged that became less and less likely.

LOS ANGELES - NOV 23: One Direction, Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles at the 2014 American Music Awards - Arrivals at the Nokia Theater on November 23, 2014 in Los Angeles, CA

In 2017 Liam had a son Bear Gray Payne, with fellow popstar Cheryl, however their relationship ended in 2018. Payne has been open about his struggles with various forms of addiction and substance abuse issues over the last number of years. It is important that no assumptions are made about the context of what happened. We will await news of the inevitable police enquiry to confirm if any further investigations are necessary.

We send our thoughts and to his family and friends.