As news of Liam Payne‘s death at the age of 31 reverberates around the world, he leaves behind a seven-year-old son, Bear, whom he shares with singer Cheryl.
But as the Girls Aloud star, 41, grapples with grief for the father of her child, the still murky circumstances in which he died may bring back horrific memories for her.
The former One Direction star fell from the third floor into the courtyard of the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires yesterday before medics confirmed his death.
Wolverhampton-born Payne is said to have been ‘acting erratically’ and police in Argentina were contacted by a member of hotel staff who reported ‘an aggressive man who may have been under the effects of drugs and alcohol‘.
For Cheryl, drugs have impacted several of her loved ones – including her older brother Andrew Tweedy, who was found living in a tent on the streets in 2021, and her elder sister, Gillian, with the singer claiming her sibling was a teen drug user.
Meanwhile, as controversial photos of Payne’s body emerge online, they hark back to a harrowing image of one of Cheryl’s childhood friends, budding footballer John Courtney, who passed away from a heroin overdose in 2005.
As news of Liam Payne ‘s death at the age of 31 reverberates around the world, he leaves behind a seven-year-old son, Bear, whom he shares with singer Cheryl (pictured together in 2016)
Wolverhampton-born Payne pictured with his son Bear, who he shared with the Girls Aloud singer
It was a photo that shocked the nation – talented footballer Courtney lay dead on the floor. The image was released by the 21-year-old’s family to warn others off drugs.
The Newcastle youth was one of Cheryl’s closest friends and his death turned her into a staunch anti-drugs crusader.
The former X Factor star said: ‘It put me off drugs for life. That nightmare devastated all John’s family and friends.’
Cheryl met Courtney at school when they were teenagers. The talented footballer was at 17 tipped to follow in the footsteps of Newcastle hero Alan Shearer, but his dreams collapsed when he first tried heroin.
He soon developed a £90-a-day habit that led to his imprisonment for stealing.
Cheryl, already a member of Girls Aloud, visited his home and pleaded with him to kick the drugs.
In the book Cheryl Cole: The Unauthorised Biography, John’s mother Angie revealed that the former pop star wrote him a letter begging him not to destroy his life.
‘He kept the note on the wall to remind him he had to keep battling,’ she said.
As controversial photos of Payne’s body emerge online, they hark back to a harrowing image of one of Cheryl’s childhood friends, budding footballer John Courtney (pictured), who passed away from a heroin overdose in 2005
The tragedy of Payne’s death comes after Cheryl’s Girls Aloud bandmate Sarah Harding passed away from breast cancer (pictured together in 2012)
The former One Direction star pictured with the Girls Aloud singer during their romantic relationship
But on April 2, 2005, John’s body was found curled up on the floor. He had passed away. Cheryl, who has always been anti-drugs, sent flowers to his family, who released the photo, taken by police, to warn others about the dangers of taking heroin.
‘Cheryl’s were among the first to arrive. This just shows how down to earth she is and how she’ll never forget her roots,’ said Mrs Courtney.
But footballer Courtney’s tragic death wasn’t the first time Cheryl saw someone suffer at the hands of drugs.
She is believed to have dated furniture salesman Jason Mack for 18 months from 2000 to 2002, before she was picked to be part of Girls Aloud.
Jason, who was 27 at the time, has previously confessed that he put his then girlfriend ‘through hell’ due to his drug addictions.
‘When I first met her I was doing a lot of cocaine,’ he told the Daily Mirror. ‘Some days I’d blow £200 on the stuff, and I’d be drinking bottles of Bud from 8am until I crashed out at God knows when.’
But drugs have also impacted even closer to home for Cheryl; in her book My Story (2012), the Girls Aloud star claimed her elder sister, Gillian, allegedly turned to drugs aged 15 to block out the shock of learning another man was her real father, reported Chronicle Live. It was not suggested that Gillian had continued using drugs.
Cheryl’s brother, meanwhile, Andrew Tweedy, was found living in a tent on the streets and begging for money and surviving on handouts in 2021.
Speaking to The Sun at the time, Cheryl’s embattled brother said the singer- who has made numerous attempts to get him clean, including funding a £20,000 stint in rehab to tackle his drug problems – probably has no idea he’s homeless.
Cheryl is believed to have dated furniture salesman Jason Mack (pictured) for 18 months from 2000 to 2002, before she was picked to be part of Girls Aloud
Andrew said: ‘This is what I’m f***ing living like. I’ve been begging here for more than three months and it’s something that has really broken my heart.
‘I’ve got so much f***ing pride. With the family I’ve got, I shouldn’t be here. It’s horrible.
‘None of them have contacted me. Even though Cheryl’s not helping me, she’s still my family. She probably won’t even know I’m on the streets, I don’t blame her at all. This is the lowest I’ve ever been.’
MailOnline contacted Cheryl’s representatives for comment at the time.
According to The Sun, a tearful Andrew was discovered sleeping alongside bottles of urine and empty cans of beer in his makeshift home in northern England. He also shared the tent with a homeless friend.
Andrew – who has a son – revealed he was forced to live on the streets when his relationship broke down earlier that year.
Cheryl’s troubled brother has had a history with crime and has appeared in court more than 50 times.
He took part in his first robbery aged 13 and in 2005, he was sentenced for four years over the brutal mugging of a teenager, a crime which he jumped bail for and spent five weeks on the run.
Cheryl and Liam Payne at the 38th Brit Awards in London in 2018
Cheryl and Liam Payne at a Christmas concert in London in November 2016
In 1996, he was placed in a Young Offender Institution for the stabbing of two students in a street fight. He served three years before getting out on parole.
He was jailed once more in 2011 for six years, for his involvement in an armed robbery at a Post Office.
A local officer reportedly said they do not have any ‘real right’ to move Andrew from the plot where his tent is erected, as the land is owned by the council.
He is awaiting temporary accommodation as a local member of the council said they are working on finding a ‘solution’.
The former labourer became hooked on glue at a young age, after growing up on a heroin-ravaged estate in Newcastle.
Andrew long continued to battle drug and alcohol addiction, despite numerous help attempts by his younger sister Cheryl. It’s unclear what Andrew’s circumstances are currently.
The Girls Aloud star has never publicly mentioned her heartache regarding Andrew, but he has acknowledged her unquestionable support on multiple occasions.
Speaking from his jail cell in 2008, he told the Sunday Mirror: ‘Cheryl wants to help me – but I’m too far gone. I know I’m breaking her heart, but I’m not strong enough to sort myself out.’
‘It tears me up to think I’m causing my little sister so much pain. I’ve told Cheryl she should be ashamed of me, but she says she loves me and she’ll never give up on me.’
Sarah passed away from breast cancer in 2021, and the remaining four singers decided to reunite and go on tour in a bid to pay tribute to their late friend, admitting they are ‘doing it for Sarah’. Pictured, Sarah and Cheryl in 2003
She was said to have been ‘crippled by worry’ about her older brother and was spotted making covert jail visits as he served time for a violent robbery.
‘She came on her own,’ said Andrew. ‘She looked so sad and so tired, totally different to how she looks on TV or singing on stage… It broke my heart to see her so cut up.’
According to reports at the time, Cheryl held her brother’s hand during a prison visit and begged him to let her and former husband Ashley Cole pay for his rehab.
But the Newcastle native rejected the offer. He acknowledged that she was behind him ‘every step of the way’ but refused the help because he was scared of letting her down.
While brutally honest about his own failings, he said in 2008 that he hopes one day be able to get his life back on track and repay Cheryl for all of her kindness.
The tragedy of Payne’s death comes after Cheryl’s Girls Aloud bandmate Sarah Harding passed away from breast cancer.
Speaking in a special two-hour show for Radio 2 in May 2024, Cheryl opened up about missing her friend.
She said: ‘There are little moments that you would share with her individually on stage on tour. Where there’s no more Sarah than in that moment and I can’t describe… like, nobody else would know her that way, other than us four.’
Cheryl and Liam Payne in Paris for the Global Gift Gala in May 2016
The girl band, which now consists of Cheryl, Kimberley Walsh, Nadine Coyle and Nicola Roberts – returned for a tour this year for the first time since 2013 and, during each show, they paid tribute to their dear friend Sarah.
Sarah passed away from breast cancer in 2021, and the remaining four singers decided to reunite and go on tour in a bid to pay tribute to their late friend, admitting they are ‘doing it for Sarah’.
Girls Aloud catapulted to fame in 2002 when they took part in the ITV reality show Popstars: The Rivals.
They competed for a place in a girl band and were then pitted against a boy band from the show named One True Voice in the hope that their song would become Christmas number one.
Girls Aloud won with their single Sound Of The Underground and they went on to have three more number ones and 20 top ten hits. Sarah also won Celebrity Big Brother in 2017.