Perrie Edwards reveals her 'heart hurts' as she breaks silence on Liam Payne's 'devastating' death
Perrie Edwards has spoken out about Liam Payne's tragic passing, revealing that her "heart hurts" over the heartbreaking news.
The Little Mix star, who rose to fame on The X Factor in 2011 a year after One Direction was formed, recently cancelled her BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge appearance as she processed the loss.
Speaking candidly on Fearne Cotton's Happy Place podcast, which was recorded just a day after Liam's death, Perrie shared her shock and sadness.
Related
Zayn Malik shares new update after Liam Payne's death
Louis Tomlinson's lookalike son makes rare appearance
Liam Payne's friendships with One Direction stars
"I think it just feels weird," she confessed. "It's just so sad and heartbreaking and my heart hurts for his family and friends, Cheryl, his little boy.
"It's devastating I can't imagine how they must be feeling now. I didn't think it was real when I read it, it's in the air and everyone can feel it."
Reflecting on the shared bond between Little Mix and One Direction, Perrie added: "Me and the Little Mix girls were messaging and Leigh-Anne (Pinnock) just said it feels very close to home. Our careers were very aligned, we had a close relationship with them. It's honestly so sad, it made my body feel so weird when I saw the headline."
Liam passed away, aged 31, after falling from a third-floor balcony of the Casa Sur Hotel in the Argentine capital on 16 October. Perrie was previously engaged to Liam's former bandmate Zayn Malik.
In the same chat, Perrie opened up about the darker side of fame, including the toll of online trolling and the pressures of the music industry.
"There are no consequences for people's comments online," she explained. "People are not looked after enough in this industry, people are put on a pedestal. They are treated like a god and then everyone jumps on this bandwagon of like, 'Let's tear them down'.
"But people are human. Can we make rules with social media? I can't bear it - I try to not look as I can go into a hole just looking at negative comments.
Acknowledging her own struggles with the mental toll of fame, she added: "Success is good but fame is different - there is a dark side to it. It's intense. I bring my therapist to work with me sometimes as I can't cope with the panic attacks sometimes."
Perrie met the One Direction boys on The X Factor UK in 2011 at the start of their successful music careers.
She dated Zayn for two years before he proposed in August 2013, but they split in 2015 before walking down the aisle.
