Simon Cowell was comforted by Liam Payne’s heartbroken parents Geoff and Karen at the late singer’s funeral.
‘The X Factor’ mogul, 65, was among the raft of A-listers at 31-year-old Liam’s final farewell on Wednesday after his balcony fall death in Argentina on 16 October, and he was pictured being hugged by his mother and father.
It was reported by the Daily Mail the embrace came as Simon “sought to comfort” Geoff and Karen.
Pictures showed the trio sharing embraces outside St Mary’s Church in Amersham, south-east England, where Liam was laid to rest in an emotional service.
Simon’s long-term partner Lauren Silverman, 47, stood at a distance while he “shared a private moment with the grieving couple”, according to the Mail.
It added Liam’s parents paid a final tribute to the singer by laying a floral tribute beside his coffin that spelled out ‘son’.
Simon propelled One Direction to fame after the band was put together on the 2010 run of his ITV show ‘The X Factor’.
Liam’s fellow bandmates Harry Styles, 30, Niall Horan, 31, Zayn Malik, also 31, and Louis Tomlinson, 32, were also present at his funeral – alongside Girls Aloud singer Cheryl, 41, who was in a relationship with Payne between 2016 and 2018 and has his seven-year-old son Bear.
Liam died in Buenos Aires on 16 October after falling 45ft from the third-floor balcony of his suite at the CasaSur Hotel in Buenos Aires where he had been on holiday.
His actress girlfriend Kate Cassidy, 25, was with him until two days before his shock passing as she left to return to her home in America.
She also attended the funeral alongside Damian Hurley, 22, son of 59-year-old actress Elizabeth Hurley.
Liam’s body arrived at his funeral in a white-horse drawn hearse, which featured floral tributes from his parents and boy Bear – with a wreath saying ‘Daddy’ seen outside the church where he was laid to rest.
Fans of the late pop star also paid their respects to Liam, with tributes being laid in Wolverhampton, the city of his birth, and in Hyde Park in London.
