Former X Factor star Mary Byrne has said her relationship with Liam Payne was like “the older mammy and the boy” during their time on the show.
Byrne, 64, who came fifth on series seven of the ITV singing show, behind Payne’s group One Direction in third, told the PA news agency she last spoke to him six years ago while they were appearing as guests on RTÉ’s The Late Late Show.
It comes after Payne died at the age of 31 after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in Argentina.
Local police said he fell into the courtyard of the CasaSur Hotel in the Palermo neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, before medics confirmed his death.
Speaking about the relationship she had with Payne, Byrne told PA: “I kind of became good friends with Liam.
“As a 50-year-old lady going into the X Factor, I found it tough, like the young kids found it tough work as well, and I remember getting to meet Liam at boot camp, and we just got talking one day, and a kind of friendship, a little bond, came between us, the older mammy and the boy.
“And it was lovely that went on into the house, and into the live shows and the whole lot, Liam was one of the guys who if anyone in the group felt a bit down, he was the one to give you the hug.
“He was the one to come over and assure you that everything was going to be OK, just keep going.
“And he got the rest of the lads doing the same thing.”
Byrne remembered one time when she was “a little bit down” on the show, and then-contestant Storm Lee went out with One Direction to buy her “a big box of roses” along with a card.
She said: “On the top of the card they all signed it, but Liam said, ‘mammy Mary, I’m here for you, you’ve got to keep going, we’ll do this together’.
“I mean, come on, I still have that card, that to me proved the heart that young lad had.”
The Dublin-born singer said the pair took photos together when they last met on The Late Late Show, adding that he was on “top form” at the time.
She said: “We had photographs taken backstage and in the dressing room and he was on top form.
“The first thing he did was give me a hug and tell me that his parents were happy and everything was going well.
“I’m sorry now that I didn’t keep in contact with him, but life goes on and we all go our own ways, it’s sad.”
Byrne said Payne was “the one that really wanted the group (One Direction) to work” during their time on The X Factor and said he was a leader in the boyband.
She added: “He was like an old soul, he just had this thing about him, that he was kind for starters, and he was funny, and he was generous with time, which for a 16-year-old boy, it’s a beautiful thing to see.
“He was so well brought up and obviously so well loved that he would give this passion to other people.
“He was such a great guy, and he was only a baby when I met him, and to see him growing into the lovely man he is, and he has that beautiful baby Bear with Cheryl.
“It’s so sad to think now that, that beautiful star has gone out of the sky.”
