Perrie Edwards says her 'heart hurts' as she breaks silence on Liam Payne's 'devastating' death
Little Mix's Perrie Edwards has broken her silence following the tragic death of Liam Payne. The One Direction singer sadly died earlier this month at the age of 31 after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires.
And now Perrie, who was in a relationship with Liam's former bandmate Zayn Malik between 2011 and 2015, has opened up about her deep sadness for Liam's former partner Cheryl and their son Bear following his heartbreaking death. The songstress, who found stardom much like Liam on The X Factor, expressed her sorrow on Fearne Cotton's 'Happy Place' podcast.
"I think it just feels weird. It's just so sad and heartbreaking and my heart hurts for his family and friends, Cheryl, his little boy," she said. "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."
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She also reflected on her own feelings upon hearing the tragic news, saying: "Me and the Little Mix girls were messaging [after news of Liam's death broke] and Leigh-Anne [Pinnock] just said it feels very close to home," she explained.
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With their careers both seeing them begin on the ITV talent show, she added: "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."
News of Liam's death broke on Wednesday, 16 October and since then people from across the world have paid tribute to the beloved star. While on the podcast, Perrie, 31, spoke about the darker side of fame and asserted that more support is needed for young stars facing online abuse.
"There are no consequences for people's comments online. People are not looked after enough in this industry, people are put on a pedestal," she said, adding the insight that celebs often become idolised only to face a harsh fallout. "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 of just looking at negative comments. 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."
