Liam Payne appears in never-before-seen pictures as heartbroken Denise Lewis releases statement

Dame Denise Lewis grew close to late One Direction star Liam Payne as he was managed by her husband, Steve Finan O'Connor. She has shared a touching tribute to the singer

Dame Denise Lewis has paid tribute to Liam Payne following his shock death last week and shared never-before-seen photos of the late star.

The 52-year-old Olympic athlete had been married to 60-year-old music manager Steve Finan O'Connor - who was Liam's manager ahead of his death at the age of 31 on 16 October. Through her husband, Dame Denise struck up a friendship with Liam and she revealed he was a role model for the three sons she shares with Steve.

Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, the heptathlete shared a string of images of Liam while sharing a heartfelt tribute to him and his life. The One Direction star died in Buenos Aires, Argentina, after falling from a balcony on the third floor of a hotel.

Writing her tribute, Dame Denise said: "Okay. Here goes…. I know it’s real and you’re not coming back. So here’s to you - the real you. Kind, funny, annoyingly daft but more talented than you believed, more loved than you could grasp."

She added: "The dark storms have passed and all that is ahead of you is sunshine. You deserve that. Thank you for being so sweet with my kids, the big kid in you always knew what to say to make them laugh. Rest well bab… Wolvo & the world weep."

The music world has been reeling since Liam's shock death, with his One Direction bandmates sharing tributes to him online. Harry Styles wrote, as part of a touching statement: "His greatest joy was making other people happy, and it was an honour to be alongside him as he did it."

Zayn Malik, who had a fractured friendship with the singer, wrote: "I never got to thank you for supporting me through some of the most difficult times in my life. When I was missing home as a 17 yr old kid you would always be there with a positive outlook and reassuring smile and let me know you were my friend and that I was loved. Even though you were younger than me you were always more sensible than me, you were headstrong, opinionated, and gave no f**ks about telling people when they were wrong. Even though we butted heads because of this a few times, I always secretly respected you for it."

Louis Tomlinson 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. I would have loved to share the stage with you again but it wasn’t to be.”

And Niall Horan wrote within his own tribute: “I feel so fortunate that I got to see him recently. I sadly didn’t know that after paying goodbye and hugging him that evening, I would be saying goodbye forever. It’s heartbreaking.”

It has been reported it could be two weeks before Liam's body is flown back to the UK while Argentinian authorities await toxicology test results. The Public Prosecutor's Office said in a statement: "The head injuries were sufficient to cause death , while the internal and external haemorrhages in the skull, chest, abdomen and limbs contributed to the mechanism of death."

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