Louis Tomlinson was on top of the world. Then he lost his mother, sister and best friend.

For five years, Louis Tomlinson lived inside a storm — one that captured the hearts of millions of girls around the world.

No one could've known that putting five teenage boys — Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Tomlinson — together on The X Factor UK would change music history forever.

But once One Direction was born, the world shifted.

They weren't just a boy band; they were a phenomenon. They sold out stadiums, broke America and turned into global icons before they were even old enough to drink in the US. Their records sold in the tens of millions, and each member reportedly made more than £40 million (A$81 million).

For the fans, the Directioners, it was a devotion that bordered on spiritual. It wasn't just about the music; it was about belonging to something bigger.

For those who lived it, One Direction wasn't just a phase. It was an identity.

Then, in 2016, came the heartbreak. The band announced their "hiatus".

For Tomlinson, it marked the beginning of something even harder: finding out who he was without the band that had defined him.

And just as he began carving out that identity, tragedy struck.

Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Liam Payne in 2010. Image: Getty.

His mother, Johannah Deakin — his anchor and biggest supporter — died from leukaemia.

Tomlinson had to find a way to grieve while being there for his younger sisters.

Three years later, heartbreak came again. His 18-year-old sister Félicité died from an accidental drug overdose.

"I couldn't believe how deeply unlucky we'd been as a family," he told Steven Bartlett for his Diary of a CEO podcast this week.

"I felt angry at life and I felt angry on behalf of my family."

Tomlinson with his mum. Image: Instagram.

The singer had been worried about Félicité, who had been struggling since their mother's passing.

"The doorbell rang at one in the morning or something, maybe midnight, and I had this feeling come over me straight away," he said.

When Payne died last year, all that grief came flooding back.

Payne fell from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires in October 2024. He was just 31. Toxicology reports later revealed traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in his system.

"It was really, really, impossibly difficult for me to deal with losing Liam," Tomlinson told Rolling Stone.

"Naively, I thought that because at this point, I'm relatively well-versed in grief for my age, that it might soften the blow.

"It's very different. I've never lost a friend before."

Tomlinson and Payne. Image: Getty.

The day after Payne's death, Tomlinson issued a statement.

He wanted people to remember his former bandmate as he did.

"For the record, Liam was in my opinion the most vital part of One Direction," he wrote.

"I feel beyond lucky to have had you in my life but I'm really struggling with the idea of saying goodbye. I'm so grateful that we got even closer since the band, speaking on the phone for hours, reminiscing about all the thousands of amazing memories we had together is a luxury I thought I'd have with you for life."

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This year marked the 15th anniversary of One Direction's formation.

For previous anniversaries, Tomlinson felt almost "sick of nostalgia". But this one was different. This one hurt.

"It just brought up those feelings, although I'm still living with them anyway," he told Rolling Stone.

Reflecting on Payne, he said he thinks his former bandmate was just a "very misunderstood person".

"If there is ever any judgment on his character, I think nine times out of 10, you can reflect on that, and the reflection is that he was someone who just wanted to be liked," he said.

Because behind the fame, the chaos, the screaming fans, and the spotlight, five boys became brothers.

And now, one of them is gone.

Feature image: Getty.