Liam Payne's heartbroken father, Geoff Payne, made the difficult journey to Argentina to bring his son home after the former One Direction star tragically fell from a third-floor balcony in Buenos Aires on October 16. The devastating incident occurred while Liam was on holiday with his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, and it's reported that Geoff had expressed concerns about his son's wellbeing prior to the tragedy.
Geoff travelled to the same hotel where his son lost his life to arrange for Liam's body to be returned home as police investigations into the circumstances of his death continued. The doting dad refused to leave the hotel with an eye-witness telling how Geoff was 'determined' to cling onto the memory of his son
At Liam's funeral last Wednesday at St Mary's Church in Amersham, Geoff kept his promise to his family to stay by their side as Liam's coffin was carried into the church. Geoff always found it hard to accept losing his pop star son when he shot to fame with One Direction and began touring the world, reports the Daily Record.
A family friend told Mail Online: "Geoff is a lovely, lovely man. He struggled with Liam becoming famous. It was Simon who gave Liam so much, but also the one who took him away as such a young man, so it must have been difficult for Geoff." As Liam soared to stardom at just 16 after his stint on The X Factor and signing with Simon Cowell's SyCo label, his family life was irrevocably changed. He began touring the globe, leaving his family feeling his absence deeply.
Geoff confided that he longed for typical father-son experiences, lamenting missed opportunities like buying Liam his first beer, during an intimate reveal in One Direction's 2013 documentary This Is Us. Geoff said: "I don't think we get to see him enough. There's a lot said about the mum's spirit and feeling. But dads do feel it as well, especially at 17, you'd like to have that son around you. All I had to offer him was to take him drinking and playing snooker.
"I didn't really have an awful lot to offer him, but that's part of your establishment as a young man, and that time went. I've missed it. I've missed it. He's the only fella in the family, he's gone."
It has been claimed in documents that Liam's father had been concerned for him for a while and said it was critical that Liam always stayed busy and was never left alone. He reportedly became alarmed in September after his son 'fired a bodyguard who was trying to stop him from doing drugs', according to TMZ.
Tragic reports have surfaced about Liam's desperate attempts to leave his hotel room before his devastating fall. New information has come to light that the ex-boyband star was carrying a bag when he fell.
A shocking revelation from an eyewitness alleges that the hotel staff were aware of Liam's intentions to use the balcony to escape but left him unattended. It's been suggested by insiders that Liam had long struggled with being cooped up in hotel rooms, a sentiment he expressed on The Diary of a CEO podcast in 2021, where he shared: "My dad said it from day one - lonely hotel rooms, man - getting locked in that room is not fun when you've been exposed."
In the wake of Liam's tragic passing, his family issued a heartfelt statement, saying: "We are heartbroken. Liam will forever live in our hearts and we'll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul. We are supporting each other the best we can as a family and ask for privacy and space at this awful time."
