Liam Payne’s parents Geoff and Karen hugged a heartbroken Simon Cowell as he sought to comfort them following their son’s funeral today.
The heartfelt embrace took place outside the church where Payne was remembered in an emotional service following his tragic death at the age of just 31.
Cowell’s girlfriend, Lauren Silverman, stood at a distance away while the 65-year-old shared a private moment with the grieving couple – who paid a final tribute to the beloved singer with a floral tribute beside his coffin spelling out the word ‘son’.
Payne found fame alongside his One Direction bandmates when Cowell put them together to form the group on ITV talent show The X Factor in 2010.
Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson were also present at the service today alongside Girls Aloud star Cheryl Tweedy, who was in a relationship with Payne between 2016 and 2018.
A horse-drawn carriage carried the dark blue coffin with silver handles, which was topped with white roses, to the service at the church in the Home Counties.
A red floral tribute which read ‘son’ and a blue tribute which said ‘daddy’ were also on the funeral carriage. Following the service, his coffin was carried to a black Jaguar hearse.
Bandmate Styles, dressed in black, arrived at the funeral in a BMW alongside Corden. Horan attended with his girlfriend Amelia Woolley, while Malik arrived shortly after Tomlinson.
US influencer Ms Cassidy, arrived alongside Damian Hurley, the son of model Elizabeth Hurley.
Girls Aloud singers Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh, who wore long black coats and sunglasses, supported their bandmate Cheryl.
Capital radio DJs Chris Stark, Jordan North and Sian Welby all paid tribute, as well as new BBC Radio 2 breakfast host Scott Mills, former professional footballer Robbie Keane and broadcaster Adrian Chiles.
JLS star and TV presenter Marvin Humes, who met Payne when he first auditioned for The X Factor in 2008, attended alongside his wife, The Saturdays singer Rochelle Humes.
Prior to the funeral starting, dozens of locals and fans gathered to pay their final respects to Payne, who died on October 16 after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires.
Fans around the world held vigils in his memory following his death, while a shrine to the late star was created in his hometown of Wolverhampton.
He died of multiple traumas and ‘internal and external haemorrhage’, a post-mortem examination report said.
Following Payne’s death, his One Direction bandmates said they were ‘completely devastated’ and will miss the singer ‘terribly’.
In a joint statement, they said they would say more in time but were going to take some time to ‘grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly’.
‘The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever’, they added.
The singers also all reflected on their memories from their time together and their love for Payne in individual statements.
After One Direction went on indefinite hiatus in 2016, Payne launched a successful solo career, releasing his debut solo album LP1 in December 2019, which included the songs Polaroid and Strip That Down featuring Quavo.