Liam Payne's death made Harry Styles rethink his life

Speaking for the first time about the death of his "super special" pal for the first time, Harry told Zane Lowe, 52, on Apple Music: "It was a really important moment for me in terms of taking a look at my life and being able to say to myself, 'OK, what do I want to do with my life?'

"'How do I want to live my life?' And I think the greatest way you can honour your friends who pass away is by living your life to the fullest.

"A super special person, really sad."

The Aperture hitmaker - who starred in the chart-topping boyband alongside Liam, Louis Tomlinson, 34, Zayn Malik, 33, and 32-year-old Niall Horan - has "struggled" to talk about Liam's death and navigate the grief.

Harry - who was on his three-year break from music at the time of Liam's death - explained: "Even the idea of talking about it, I struggle with that a little bit.

"I think there was a period when he passed away where I really struggled with acknowledging how strange it is to have people own part of your grief, in a way.

"I have such strong feelings around my friend passing away, and then suddenly being made aware there's maybe a desire from other people of you to convey that in some way, or it means you're not feeling what you're feeling, or something.

"And it's so difficult to lose a friend, it's difficult to lose any friend, but it's so difficult to lose a friend who is so like you in so many ways.

"It's like I saw someone with the kindest heart who just wanted to be great."

Two days after Liam died, Harry penned a heartfelt tribute to him, which was shared on Instagram.

Harry wrote: "I am truly devastated by Liam's passing.

"His greatest joy was making other people happy, and it was an honour to be alongside him as he did it.

"Liam lived wide open, with his heart on his sleeve, he had an energy for life that was infectious.

"He was warm, supportive, and incredibly loving.

"The years we spent together will forever remain among the most cherished years of my life. I will miss him always, my lovely friend.

"My heart breaks for Karen, Geoff, Nicola and Ruth, his son Bear, and all those around the world who knew and loved him, as I did.

"- Harry (sic)"