Nicola Payne honors Liam Payne on his would-be 32nd birthday

Nicola Payne paid tribute to her younger brother on what would have been his 32nd birthday, recalling the last time they saw one another and describing how the family marked the day with activities he loved. The former One Direction singer died in October 2024 after falling from a third floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

In an Instagram post on Aug. 29, Nicola, 37, described the siblings' final night together, saying they spent the evening "celebrating your birthday with bowling and McDonalds" and ended it with a hug. "If I had known that would be the last time I'd see you, I would have said so much more," she wrote, adding that she wished she could "step into a time machine and relive that night, hug you tighter, capture your smile and voice." She closed the message with a birthday wish: "So today, on your birthday, I want to wish you the happiest heavenly birthday."

Over the weekend the family returned to a bowling alley to honor Liam Payne, Nicola showed in an Instagram Story shared Aug. 31. The scoreboard in the photo listed the names of immediate family members, and Nicola wrote, "A year later, same bowling alley, different lanes, one huge part of our family...