Inside Liam Payne And Louis Tomlinson's Tumultuous Relationship

In 2010, young Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson had no idea their lives were about to change. Surely, if someone had told them that, along with Harry Styles, Niall Horan, and Zayn Malik, they were going to form One Direction, the boy band that marked a generation, they wouldn't have believed it. But they did. And that bond intertwined their lives until they ended up becoming brothers. However, Payne and Tomlinson's relationship wasn't always rosy, as they endured ups and downs throughout the years.

In an interview with Hits Radio, Payne offered insight into how they felt about each other when he and Tomlinson first met, acknowledging that they clashed because they both felt they should be the leaders of the band due to their previous experience. However, Payne stressed that he and Tomlinson found a way to make peace for the sake of the rest of the band and that they supported each other when they began their respective solo careers.

In an interview on Logan Paul's "Impaulsive" podcast, Payne shared some additional details about his relationship with Tomlinson during their time as members of One Direction. Payne said he wasn't used to "rowdy guys" when he first joined the group, saying, "Louis was wild. He wanted to be wild. He's got this spirit," while confessing that in the tensest moments between him and Tomlinson, they were close to coming to blows. Tomlinson, for his part, downplayed the matter in an interview with Australian talk show "The Project," highlighting the incredible moments he experienced as a member of One Direction. Payne ended up apologizing for his words, acknowledging that what he said came from the wrong place.

In 2016, when Louis Tomlinson's mother died of leukemia, it marked a turning point in his and Liam Payne's relationship. Payne publicly offered his condolences with emotional words on X, formerly known as Twitter. Three days later, Payne, who was always the most open when it came to explaining the drama between him and his former One Direction bandmates, participated in the band's reunion on "The X Factor," alongside the rest of his bandmates (except Zayn Malik), as a tribute to Tomlinson's mother. Tomlinson never forgot that Payne supported him when he needed it most.

From there, the two grew closer, which was proven amid the premiere of "All of Those Voices," the documentary in which Tomlinson paid tribute to his mother and sister, who died in 2019. Payne not only supported his bandmate in a since-deleted Instagram post (via People), but he also expressed regret for not having supported him enough when Tomlinson was going through one of his worst personal moments, thanking Tomlinson for having been a good friend to him despite everything.

According to Us Weekly, Payne discussed the ups and downs of his relationship with Tomlinson on ET Canada in October 2021, sharing that when they were in One Direction, he and Tomlinson "did not get along" but they became "the best of friends within the band." Following Payne's sudden death, all the members of One Direction shared heartbreaking statements. Tomlinson, wrote an emotional farewell on Instagram, noting that, if Payne's son Bear ever needs someone, Tomlinson "will be the Uncle he needs in his life and tell him stories of how amazing his dad was."