Louis Tomlinson’s PR manager shared that the heartbroken singer would never be able to reunite with his One Direction bandmates and perform again after the death of Liam Payne, as it would be too painful to bear.

“Louis just despairs,” the public relations rep for the English singer, 33, told The Standard on Wednesday, March 12. “He could never get up there and sing as part of the band after what has happened.”

Despite rumors of a reunion performance paying special tribute to the late 1D member, none of the surviving bandmates had commented on or confirmed the speculation. Fans eagerly awaited seeing Louis, along with Zayn Malik, Harry Styles and Niall Horan, take the stage at the BRIT Awards on March 1 – the centerpiece of the gossip – though they did not end up performing. Instead, organizers put on a video montage in tribute to Liam, which Louis praised, writing, “Thank you @BRITs. Beautiful tribute. Miss you always brother x,” on X.

The band declared an indefinite hiatus following Liam’s fatal fall from a Buenos Aires hotel balcony in October 2024 at age 31, and now, according to Louis’ rep, it seems like it will be permanent. The singer’s cause of death was determined to be multiple serious injuries suffered from the three-floor fall, including a fractured skull, In Touch confirmed at the time. An autopsy later revealed that Liam had traces of cocaine, benzodiazepine and crack in his system, as well as “pink cocaine,” a mix of methamphetamine, ketamine and MDMA.

Fans around the world that grew up with the boy band’s music took Liam’s death hard, but those that knew him best faced a heart-wrenching new reality. Louis, in particular, was crushed and gave a simple, solemn tribute on October 17, the day after his bandmate’s death. 

“Liam was an incredible songwriter with a great sense of melody,” he wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of the two of them performing on stage. “We often spoke of getting back in the studio together to try and recreate the writing chemistry we had built up in the band.”

Liam’s ex-fiancée, Maya Henry, also expressed how devastated she was at the news of his death, opening up to Rolling Stone about the late performer’s struggles with addiction and mental health issues.

“Initially, it was the drug use and addictions that tore us apart. Anyone who has been with an addict understands how difficult that is. While I loved him deeply, he did things that hurt me in ways I’ll never fully understand, and he continued to hurt me years after we broke up,” she said, adding that she “knew there were parts of himself he was struggling with — parts of his identity he wasn’t ready to fully face, even within our relationship.” 

“In the end, it wasn’t just the betrayals or the addictions that broke us — it was the realization that I had spent years in something that was never what I thought it was. I don’t fault him for his struggles,” the American model concluded.