Chris Hughes has revealed that Liam Payne’s death hit him hard because he had helped him to navigate his ‘struggles’ with life in the spotlight.
The One Direction star died aged 31 after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina in October 2024.
Liam was no stranger to having struggles with life in the spotlight, which he candidly discussed throughout his all-too-short career.
Appearing on the Question The Default podcast with host Harry Corin on Wednesday, Chris opened up about a message Liam sent him following a ‘scrap’ with the paparazzi.
The incident occurred in 2020 outside the NTAs after a row with his then-girlfriend Jesy Nelson.
Recalling how Liam supported him, he said: ‘When Liam Payne died, that hit me hard because he was one of the first people who reached out to me in that moment [the paparazzi incident].
Chris Hughes has revealed that Liam Payne ‘s death hit him hard because he had helped him to navigate his ‘struggles’ with life in the spotlight
The One Direction star died aged 31 after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina in October 2024
Appearing on the Question The Default podcast with host Harry Corin, Chris opened up about a message Liam sent him following a ‘scrap’ with the paparazzi
‘You know, seeing everything that happened to him was just, was obviously extremely upsetting for millions and millions of people.
‘But knowing he cared about, like, my mental health at the time.
‘He reached out, he sent me a message. The morning after that incident, and was just like, know, you’ll be anxious. It happens. It’s normal.
‘Which is basically normalised it to make me feel better.
‘Which I thought says a lot about the person’s character.’
Chris continued: ‘When we saw that news. Oh, my God, it hit you hard (when Liam died).
‘First thing I thought of was how he was to me when, like, I was going through, like, a struggle.’
Chris shot to fame in 2017 when he appeared on the third season of the reality dating show Love Island.
Chris shot to fame in 2017 when he appeared on the third season of the reality dating show Love Island
Speaking on the toll of fame and being judged by millions overnight, Chris admitted it took him a year to adapt to his new life after Love Island
Speaking on the toll of fame and being judged by millions overnight, Chris said: ‘We did see a psychologist when we came out and we saw someone before as well.
‘Before we flew back, she spoke to us all individually just to basically make us aware that this is essentially like overnight fame.
‘Like you, you haven’t experienced how big the show was because you’ve been living it, and you can’t watch it.
‘We have no phones, we have nothing in there.
‘So when you go home, things will be very different…. And I couldn’t believe how big that show was. Like it was, it was nuts.’
He continued: ‘Everything had changed and for me it was tough because I know I didn’t, I don’t watch loads of that type of TV.
‘I think it took me about probably a good year to learn what not to react to.
‘And it was kind of like I was adapting to a completely new environment and a new life and a new lifestyle.
Earlier this year, Chris took part in Celebrity Big Brother, where he met his future girlfriend JoJo Siwa
It wasn’t until after exiting the famous house that their relationship turned romantic (pictured together on Tuesday)
‘So things were tough in that respect. And the media stuff can be really tough at times.
‘There are ways that I’ve just learned over the last eight years of what makes me happy.
‘And I just want like a calm, peaceful life. And I enjoy the work I do, I enjoy everything else, what comes with it.’
Earlier this year, Chris took part in Celebrity Big Brother, where he began a friendship with US star JoJo Siwa.
It wasn’t until after exiting the famous house that their relationship turned romantic.
Speaking of their unexpected love story, Chris said: ‘Big Brother was like a whirlwind.
‘It was three weeks, but it felt like it felt longer than Love Island. I don’t know why.
Initially, with Jojo, I made like a best friend. I made somebody who was like my support system in there.
‘And that was, that was one of the things, that was one of the things which people couldn’t understand in there.’
After Big Brother, a month or so later, we kind of rekindled and met up in Mexico.
‘She was out there performing at a festival. So I flew out to surprise her, which was really nice.
‘Spent about four or five days with her before flying home. And that’s kind of where it all, where it all started.’
He continued: ‘I think we’ve been out of Big Brother for nearly three and a half months now.
‘We’ve not had more than two weeks apart, which is kind of mad.
‘I’ve been out there three times. She’s been over here a handful of times.
‘It’s not even something we think about because we kind of keep finding ourselves in each other’s countries, but we obviously gravitate our way towards each other.’
