More than a year after the shock of Liam Payne’s death, Harry Styles has spoken publicly about the grief he carried – and the strange, often uncomfortable, experience of mourning a friend under the gaze of millions.

In a new interview with Apple Music, Styles reflected on losing his former One Direction bandmate, who died in October 2024 after falling from a third-floor balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

“It’s so difficult to lose a friend,” Styles said. “It’s difficult to lose any friend, but it’s so difficult to lose a friend who is so like you in so many ways.” The interview arrives as Styles prepares to release his new album. Yet the conversation inevitably circled back to Payne – and the complicated reality of grieving someone whose life was also deeply intertwined with public memory. For Styles, one of the most disorienting aspects was realising that the world expected a performance of grief.

“I think there was a period when he passed away where I really struggled with acknowledging how strange it is to have people own part of your grief in a way,” he said. “I have such strong feelings about my friend passing away. And then suddenly being aware of a desire from other people for you to convey that in some way, or it means you’re not feeling what you’re feeling.”