Nicole Scherzinger posted a tribute to Liam Payne this week following the One Direction star’s death at age 31. It was recently revealed that Scherzinger, who used to judge on The X Factor, was texting Payne the day of his death.
Nicole Scherzinger Pays Tribute to Liam Payne
Scherzinger took to Instagram on Thursday night to share a pair of photos in which she can be seen posing with Payne and Kelly Rowland. The three stars served together as judges in the upcoming Netflix reality series Building the Band. Scherzinger addressed the caption of her post to Payne himself.
“I will forever cherish and treasure the time we shared together, from fifteen years ago when One Direction was born, right up until just a few weeks ago,” Scherzinger wrote. “It was such a blessing to get to work with you recently. We shared the same love and passion for music and I will forever remember the meaningful and joyful conversations we had.”
Scherzinger added that it’s been “hard to process” Payne’s death, but shared that she is “grateful to have known your kind heart, sweet soul and character.” She told Payne, “You brought so much joy, light, and laughter to the lives of those that truly knew you.”
One Direction was formed on The X Factor in 2010, and a video leaked in 2022 revealed just how instrumental Scherzinger was in the process of putting together the group.
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Scherzinger Texted Payne the Day He Died
Scherzinger and Payne kept in touch after his time on The X Factor. In fact, it was recently revealed that Scherzinger was texting Payne the day he died. Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber shared this in a recent interview.
Webber composed the musical Sunset Boulevard, in which Scherzinger currently stars on Broadway. The Pussycat Dolls star previously performed the role of Norma Desmond on the West End in London.
“On the Wednesday when he died, she was still texting him that day, and [that evening] the reviewers came in [to SUNSET], she’d just heard that he died,” Webber told Billboard (via People). “And the fact that she even did the show at all is extraordinary.”
Scherzinger also spoke about Payne’s death in an interview with Good Morning America on Friday, saying, “I’m heartbroken for Liam, I’m heartbroken for his family and his loved ones and his friends.”
