Liam Payne’s cousin Ross Harris has shared his regret after he missed the singer’s final call just hours before his tragic death.
The One Direction singer died aged aged 31 on October 16 2024 after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires, and was found to have alcohol and cocaine in his system.
And now almost two years on from his death, his cousin Ross opened up about the stars final moments and tumultuous relationship with fame as he said: ‘He had everything and nothing at the same time.’
Appearing on Good Morning Britain on Thursday to promote his new song Bones, which proceeds will go to charity, he revealed Liam called him just hours before his death.
‘He called me, I guess the afternoon our time. I was in a session with Jordan Rams who I wrote the song with. I think my phone was down so I missed it and saw it a few hours later and thought I will call him black.
‘We finished and I called him and it was already too late which is a strange thing to try and process.
Liam Payne’s cousin has shared his regret over missing his final phone call just hours before he died and reveals the ‘isolated’ star didn’t leave the house for three months
Ross opened up about the stars final moments and tumultuous relationship with fame as he said: ‘He had everything and nothing at the same time’ (Liam pictured in March 2024)
He explained: ‘At first, before we knew the context, it was a lot harder around the circumstances. Now it is, in a way, nice to look back and think he wanted to just chat and I like that, it’s nicer than thinking the alternative.’
He added: ‘It’s going to be a regret that lives with me forever.’
Discussing his struggle to navigate fame he continued: ‘For him, fame is a very difficult thing for a lot of people to deal with.
‘It looks like it’s all glitz and glamour from the outside, and there are amazing opportunities and an amazing life you can have.
‘On the other side, there is an isolation and loneliness very hard to know, one who is in your corner, two who is rooting for you and three who is there for the fame and money.
‘It was more I thought, bless this guy, he has everything and nothing at the same time. Sort of lonely and isolated and doesn’t know what people think of him deep down.’
Liam was just 16 years old when he soared to fame on the X Factor as one fifth of One Direction.
And Ross explained how this launch into the spotlight took away his chance to grow up properly, ‘Even though he was in his 30s, he was still basically a kid,’ he said.
‘He didn’t get to grow up like a normal person. It’s a dream, isn’t it? You go on a TV show and become a superstar. That dream can end in the worst possible way which unfortunately we’ve experienced here.’
He added: ‘He didn’t feel very loved for a superstar, because he has a million people plus who love him, but they love Liam Payne.
‘He needs someone to love Liam, if that makes sense. Not that the fans don’t give him love, because he absolutely adored them and was so grateful for them.
‘But on a personal level, when you don’t have anyone around you, you worry who cares for you?’
Ross also confirmed that Liam didn’t leave his house for three months following the backlash he received after his Oscars interview in March 2022.
Ross said his launch into the spotlight at just 16 took away his chance to grow up, ‘Even though he was in his 30s, he was still basically a kid’ (Ross and Liam pictured as children)
The singer weighed in on the Will Smith and Chris Rock slap incident as he claimed there had been ‘three losers in one fight’, adding, ‘He had the right to do what he did.’
However, the exchange left viewers scratching their heads when he debuted a ‘valley’ twang – before admitting he hadn’t even been on US soil for two years.
Ross said: ‘Yeah, he didn’t [leave the house]. I think it was the Oscars, and it wasn’t his best interview, but the amount of stick he got online and social media.’
His cousin also shared that during Liam’s appearance on the Netflix reality series Building The Band, he warned contestants about the price of fame.
Ross explained: ‘When he did one of the Netflix shows last year, he spoke to some of the contestants when I was with him.
‘He just warned them that if you are going to do this, just keep, stay rooted, good people around you, that sort of thing because he knows the costs.’
Nearly two years on, Ross says his bond with Liam has now inspired him to create a charity single in Liam’s memory.
The acoustic version of his track Bones was released on Thursday alongside The Bones Fund, which will ensure all profits from the track are donated to charities representing causes close to Liam’s heart.
