Payne was a father to a son named Bear. He shared his son with Cheryl Cole, who was a judge on the reality show when Payne and One Direction were discovered.
The musical duo known as Jedward, made up of John and Edward Grimes, who also found fame after “The X Factor,” were among those mourning Payne’s death.
“Sending strength to Cheryl and his son Bear and all the One direction Family,” they wrote on X.
Charlie Puth, who worked with Payne on the 2017 song “Bedroom Floor,” wrote on Instagram that “I am in shock right now.”
“Liam was always so kind to me. He was one of the first major artists I got to work with. I can not believe that he is gone,” Puth wrote. “I am so upset right now, may he rest in peace.”
In the days before Payne’s death, his ex-fiancée Maya Henry alleged that he repeatedly contacted her and her relatives. “Ever since we broke up, he messages me, will blow up my phone. Not only from his phone; it’s always from different phone numbers, too, so I never know where it’s going to come from,” she said in a TikTok video on Oct. 6.
The Daily Mail spoke to her lawyers and said that Henry had issued a cease-and-desist letter to Payne. Her attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Henry, 23, whose relationship with Payne ended in 2022, wrote a novel called “Looking Forward” about a girl who falls in love with a charming pop star. The book has a content warning because it deals with abortion, abuse, violence, self-harm, substance abuse and eating disorders. She has said it was “inspired by true events.”