Simon Cowell broke down into tears at Liam Payne’s funeral on Wednesday. The record executive who helped create One Direction shared an emotional hug with the late singer’s parents outside St. Mary’s Church in Amersham, England.
Heartbroken Simon Cowell shares emotional hug with Liam Payne’s parents
The America’s Got Talent judge attended Payne’s last rites with his fiancee, Lauren Silverman, who had a sombre look on her face as she shared his grief. A visibly heartbroken Cowell buried his head in Payne’s father Geoff’s shoulder while keeping his arm around the Strip That Down hitmaker’s mother, Karen.
As the trio shared an emotional moment, Silverman looked on with her hand on her chest as she stood behind them. While the ceremony was private, a slew of A-listers, including the One Direction members – Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinson, gathered as Payne was laid to rest.
In addition to Cowell, who played a crucial role in Payne’s career by establishing the famous boyband, James Corden and Scott Mills were also in attendance. The Teardrops singer’s ex Cheryl Cole, the mother of his seven-year-old son Bear, also showed up alongside her Girls Aloud bandmates Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh.
Notably, Kate Cassidy, Payne’s girlfriend, who was with him in Buenos Aires just days before his death, was one of the first to arrive, as reported by the Independent. Wearing all-black, the London-based influencer wore all black and came along with Elizabeth Hurley’s son, Damian Hurley.
Payne’s funeral took place over a month after he fell to his death from a hotel balcony in the capital, Buenos Aires, on October 16. (Read More: How did Liam Payne die? Autopsy reveals…) After the news of his shock death, Cowell took to social media to pay tribute to Payne. “I feel empty. And I want you to know how much love and respect I have for you. Every tear I have shed is a memory of you,” he wrote on Instagram.
