Liam Payne’s emotional sister recalls one of the last conversations she had with him as Simon Cowell agonises over his death in new documentary

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Liam Payne’s sister has shared details of a final conversation she had with him before he passed away.

The former One Direction member died in October 2024 at 31 years old. He fell from a balcony on the third floor of the Casa Sur Palmero Hotel in Buenos Aires.

Liam’s sister, Ruth Gibbins, recently shared a memory of one of their last conversations, recalling how they playfully discussed Kelly Rowland’s famous text message to Nelly.

In Nelly’s “Dilemma” music video, Kelly Rowland seemed to be composing a text message on an old cell phone, but the screen actually displayed Microsoft Excel.

Liam’s last television appearance was on the Netflix show Building The Band, where he acted alongside Kelly Rowland, formerly of Destiny’s Child. Ruth, Liam’s sister, shared that she asked him to practice a scene with Kelly involving Microsoft Excel.

On Wednesday, Ruth shared a clip from a recent interview Kelly gave about the video, and posted on Instagram: ‘I remember one of the last times I spoke with Liam in person being about this.’

He wonders why she texted Nelly instead of using Excel. He then playfully thinks about how he’d respond, realizing he needs to stay calm, and can almost hear himself saying it with the same tone he’d use, making him laugh when he remembers.

‘It’s funny how the mind will cling to these lasts,’ Ruth continued. 

I was singing “please, please, please” in his dressing room that night, and I recall him giving me a tip on how to sing the final line of the chorus more smoothly – it was the last singing lesson I ever had with him.

This follows reports of Simon Cowell becoming emotional while honoring Liam Payne in his upcoming Netflix documentary, The Next Act.

You know, as a longtime observer of talent shows, it always gets to me seeing those early auditions. I was really touched hearing about when I first saw Liam Payne audition for The X Factor back in 2008. He was only 14, and it’s amazing to think back to that moment and how far he’s come. It’s a really emotional thing to witness someone’s potential shine through like that.

At 66, music mogul Simon reflects on his history of launching successful boy bands in a new six-episode documentary series where he’s on the hunt for the next breakout group.

The show follows Simon and his team as they search for talented singers to join the band, gradually narrowing down the hopefuls until only four remain.

In the third episode, he talks about Liam Payne, who rose to fame as a member of the boyband One Direction. Simon Cowell put the group together on The X Factor in 2010, after Liam auditioned for the show a second time.

He remembered meeting Liam before he became famous. Liam had fallen from a balcony in Argentina last year, shortly before his band placed third on a popular ITV show and went on to achieve chart-topping success.

When Simon began speaking about Liam’s death, he became overwhelmed with emotion and had to pause, wiping away tears and covering his face with his hands.

“It was just so difficult,” he shared with the Netflix cameras, remembering when he learned about Liam’s passing. He added, “Calling his parents and just thinking, ‘How do you even deal with something like that?’”

He recalled Liam’s first time on The X Factor, saying he immediately thought, “What a genuinely kind and unassuming young man.” He struck him as very normal and relatable.

I’ll always remember the twinkle in his eye and the look on his face – he was loved by everyone.

‘You just don’t know how you feel about someone until you lose them, you know? And whoa…’ Simon paused again to compose himself as his emotions overtook him.

He finished by saying they would truly miss him, then turned to his partner, Laura Silverman, for comfort. He added that he couldn’t discuss it further right now and needed some time alone to process his thoughts.

Simon shared details about learning of Liam’s death in an interview with the Daily Mail’s Weekend magazine.

Simon shared, speaking about this for the first time, that he was in Blackpool filming Britain’s Got Talent when a colleague came into his hotel room.

Seeing her face, I immediately knew something was wrong. It was the strongest emotional reaction I’ve had since my parents passed away. It brought back those painful feelings, and this situation felt just as difficult.

He became overwhelmed with emotion and started to cry. “I was in shock,” he said. “All I could think was that I needed to tell his parents. Thankfully, I was able to reach them.”

I tried to understand what they were going through, and realized we were all hurting. So I told them we needed to support each other and get through this together.

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2025-12-11 14:19