Liam Payne's dad says he missed major milestone before son's tragic hotel death

Geoff Payne (left) reportedly struggled with his son's fame
-Credit: (Image: Express & Star / SWNS)


Liam Payne's devastated dad flew to Argentina to bring his son home to be laid to rest.

The former One Direction star tragically fell to his death from a third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires in Argentina, on October 16. His father Geoff Payne jetted out to South America after his son's holiday with girlfriend Kate Cassidy took a drastic turn.

Geoff reportedly raised concerns in the lead up to his son's death that his son was on a worrying spiral. The heartbroken parent travelled to the same hotel where his son died to organise repatriation of Liam as a police probe into the singer's death continued, The Mirror reports.

READ MORE: Simon Cowell and Cheryl's rocky relationship as they reunite to grieve at Liam Payne's funeral

READ MORE: Simon Cowell comforted by Liam Payne's parents at late One Direction star's funeral

The doting dad refused to leave the hotel with an eye-witness dad 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 fulfilled the unbreakable promise he made to his family to remain by their boy's side as Liam's coffin was carried into the church.

The dad-of-three reportedly always struggled to come to terms with losing his pop star son for the first time, when his overnight fame saw him tour across the globe with One Direction, playing in front of millions of adoring fans. Following the funeral, a friend of the family 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." Liam shot to fame on The X Factor, aged 16, and signed to Simon's music label SyCo - then ultimately, never came home again.

When he jetted off around the world on tours, his parents shared how difficult it was to see him go. Geoff said that he mourned missing "rites of passage" with his teenage son, like buying him his first beer.

Liam Payne with father Geoff and mother Karen after the X Factor final outside Fountain Studios in 2010
Liam Payne with father Geoff and mother Karen after the X Factor final outside Fountain Studios in 2010

During 1D's 2013 film, This Is Us, he opened up: "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. The Mirror have reached out to his estate for comment.

It comes as reports emerged that Liam was trying to escape his hotel room before he took a horror plunge to his deaths. New details reveal that former boyband singer was wearing a bag. A bombshell claim has been made by a witness that the hotel allegedly knew Liam was threatening to use the balcony as a means to flee but left him by himself.

According to the same publication, sources have said Liam had a repeated aversion to being confined in hotel rooms, a reaction that traces back to his years in One Direction. Speaking on The Diary of a CEO podcast in 2021, Liam said about his aversion to hotel rooms: "My dad said it from day one - lonely hotel rooms, man - getting locked in that room is not fun when you've been exposed."

Following Liam's death, his family released an emotional statement: "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."

Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond. Sign up to our daily newsletter.