Former One Direction star Liam Payne has passed away at 31, multiple outlets report. The singer had been staying at CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and per police, Payne fell from his room on the third floor.
Payne had been in the city to see his bandmate Niall Horan perform on October 2.
The musician has been open about his personal struggles, revealing last July that he had quietly completed a sobriety treatment program in Louisiana. He said in a YouTube video, per Page Six, “Sorry for [being] MIA. You guys know there’s a few reasons why I did that, and I just needed to take a little bit of time out for myself.”
He continued, “I kind of became somebody who I didn’t recognize, and I’m sure you didn’t either.”
Payne also shared he entered rehab for 100 days, as “I was in bad shape up to that point. I was really happy more than anything when I arrived to kind of put a stopper on life and work. I didn’t have my phone for nearly 100 days.”
“I didn’t connect to the outside world at all and it was kind of prepping me for that moment,” he continued. “Upon leaving was actually the hardest point was turning the phone back on … because it was a little bit scary.”
Returning to life after was “a nice world to come back out to.” He added, “I’m very lucky. Thanks to you guys at home, and thanks to this wonderful life that I have.”
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.