Niall Horan reacts after the death of Liam Payne

Horan then opened up about the memories he shares with Payne.

“All the laughs we had over the years, sometimes over the simplest things, keep coming to mind through the sadness,” she wrote. “We got to live our wildest dream together and I will forever cherish every moment we had. The bond and friendship we had doesn’t happen often in a lifetime.

“I feel so blessed to have been able to see him recently. Unfortunately, I didn’t know that after saying goodbye and hugging him that night, I would be saying goodbye forever. It’s heartbreaking.”

Horan then offered a message of condolence for the people in Payne’s life, including his 7-year-old son, Bear.

“Thanks for everything Payne. Love you bro. Nialler,” he finished his post.

Horan and Payne were the two One Direction members who most recently reunited. On October 2, Payne attended Horan’s concert in Argentina. Payne shared videos of himself singing along with the crowd on his Snapchat stories. In one post, she captured a clip of Horan on stage and wrote: “So proud.”

After the show, the friends caught up and Payne uploaded two selfies they took together.

Each of the One Direction members’ statements echoed the sentiment expressed in the group’s comments posted on the boy band’s Instagram page.

In the joint statement, Horan, Styles, Tomlinson and Malik said, in part, “We are completely devastated by the news of Liam’s death. In time, and when everyone is able, there will be more to say. But for now, we will take time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, whom we love dearly. The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever.”

At the end of the message, they wrote: “We love you Liam.”