Simon Cowell Says Liam Payne Talked About How Proud He Was to Be a Dad at Last Meeting Before His Death
The British singer died on Wednesday, Oct. 16 after falling from a balcony at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires
Simon Cowell recalls Liam Payne sharing sweet words about his son Bear at their last meeting before the singer's death at age 31.
The former One Direction band member was pronounced dead after falling multiple stories at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Wednesday, Oct. 16, Policía Federal Argentina confirmed to PEOPLE.
On Friday, Oct. 18, One Direction's co-creator Cowell, 65 — who helped launch the band's career on The X Factor U.K. back in 2010 — shared the contents of the duo's last meeting before his death, revealing that the two talked about Payne's 7-year-old son Bear.
"You came to see me last year. Not for a meeting. Just to sit and talk," he wrote in a statement on Instagram. "And we reminisced about all of the fun times we had together. And how proud you were to be a Dad."
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Related: Liam Payne Shared a Rare Update on His Son Bear, 7, in the Months Before His Death
"After you left, I was reminded that you were still the sweet, kind boy I met all of those years ago," he continued.
"I have met your son, Bear. He has your smile and that twinkle in his eyes you have," Cowell wrote. "And he will be so proud of everything you achieved. And how you achieved it."
Liam shares Bear with ex, singer Cheryl Cole. Amid the news of his death, a Snapchat video taken by the British singer on his 31st birthday in August has resurfaced, in which he gave a rare update on his only child.
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“I didn’t get any dad socks yet,” Payne first joked. “But I am going to speak to my son in a little bit, which I’m really excited about. Bless him.”
He continued sweetly, "He’s so big now. He’s a big boy, and he looks like a mini-me." Payne paused before adding, "As if we need any more me in the world.”
Payne and Cole announced Bear's birth in March 2017 with a Polaroid shot of Payne cradling his son, which they both posted on Instagram.
"I'm incredibly happy to welcome our new baby boy into the world, it's a moment that I will never forget for the rest of my life and my favourite memory I have so far," Payne wrote. "I'm completely in awe of his incredible mother and how she has been the whole way through this, she's really made my dreams come true."
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