Kelsey Parker hopes Liam Payne's family can "ride the waves of grief" following his tragic death

Speaking to Britain's HELLO! magazine, Kelsey said: "Liam's family should just take each day as it comes and do what's best for them as a family.

"If that is all sitting down together and crying, then you do that. But it is so tough and so hard."

Kelsey also urged Liam's girlfriend Kate Cassidy to make the late star "proud" despite her own anguish.

She said: "When your partner is taken from you, it feels cruel and you feel as though you've been robbed of your future.

"So all Liam's girlfriend can do now is make him proud. If you told me when we lost Tom that I would be where I am now, I would never have believed it because you think: 'Oh my God, this is the end. How am I going to cope?'

"But you just have to ride the waves of grief and if it does knock you down, you've got try to get yourself up and build yourself back up again."

Kelsey took solace in the fact that Tom left a legacy behind thanks to his music work with The Wanted and she hopes that Liam's family - particularly his son Bear, seven, who he had with former partner Cheryl - can do likewise with his One Direction material.

The star - who had daughter Aurelia, five, and son Bodhi, four, with Tom - said: "I can't speak for Liam's family, but for me, what Tom achieved in 33 years on this planet is more than anyone would ever achieve in a lifetime.

"He's given me stories to tell the kids and there are so many videos. It's the same for Liam's son Bear - the children have so much footage to remember their dads."