Perrie Edwards broke her silence on Liam Payne’s tragic death as she spoke in a candid new podcast interview that was released on Monday morning.

The Little Mix singer, 31, told of her heartbreak at his death and insisted that artists in the music industry ‘aren’t looked after enough’.

One Direction singer Liam died earlier this month aged 31 after falling 45ft from the third floor into the courtyard of the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires, sparking an outpouring of grief from distraught leaving fans around the world.

Little Mix and One Direction both started their careers on The X Factor and Perrie dated bandmate Zayn Malik meaning the two bands had a close relationship.

Speaking on Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place podcast which was recorded the morning after Liam’s death, Perrie said: ‘I think it just feels weird. It’s just so sad and heartbreaking and my heart hurts for his family and friends, Cheryl, his little boy.

Perrie Edwards broke her silence on Liam Payne’s tragic death as she spoke in a candid new podcast interview that was released on Monday morning

The Little Mix singer, 31, told of her heartbreak at his death and insisted that artists in the music industry ‘aren’t looked after enough’

‘It’s devastating I can’t imagine how they must be feeling now. I didn’t think it was real when I read it, it’s in the air and everyone can feel it.

‘Me and the Little Mix girls were messaging and Leigh-Anne (Pinnock) just said it feels very close to home. Our careers were very aligned, we had a close relationship with them. It’s honestly so sad, it made my body feel so weird when I saw the headline.’

She also opened up on the price of fame during the interview, discussing online trolling and how people in the music industry aren’t looked after enough.

Perrie said: ‘There are no consequences for people’s comments online. People are not looked after enough in this industry, people are put on a pedestal.

‘They are treated like a god and then everyone jumps on this bandwagon of like ‘let’s tear them down’. But people are human. Can we make rules with social media?

‘I can’t bear it – I try to not look as I can go into a hole of just looking at negative comments. Success is good but fame is different – there is a dark side to it.

‘It’s intense. I bring my therapist to work with me sometimes as I can’t cope with the panic attacks sometimes.’

Earlier this month Perrie cancelled an upcoming BBC Radio 1 performance as a mark of respect to fellow former X Factor star Liam after his tragic death.

Perrie was due to feature on the station’s Live Lounge the Friday after he died, but pulled out on Thursday morning.

Little Mix and One Direction both started their careers on The X Factor and Perrie dated bandmate Zayn Malik meaning the two bands had a close relationship

Speaking on Fearne Cotton ‘s Happy Place podcast which was recorded the morning after Liam’s death, Perrie said: ‘I think it just feels weird. It’s just so sad and heartbreaking’

The duo both took part in The X Factor, one year apart. Perrie went on to form Little Mix alongside Leigh-Anne, Jade Thirlwall and Jesy Nelson; Liam becoming a founding member of One Direction (L-R Liam, Leigh-Anne, Jesy, Perrie, and Jade in 2018)

The duo bonded having both been contestants on The X Factor. Perrie went on to form Little Mix alongside Leigh-Anne, Jade Thirlwall and Jesy Nelson in 2011, the year after Liam took part and One Direction was created.

Radio 1 host’s Rickie Haywood-Williams, Melvin Odoom, and Charlie Hedges announced that she would no longer be taking part in Live Lounge.

They said: ‘We’ve just had some news on our show that because of the sad news of Liam Payne earlier we have heard that Perrie is not going to be in the Live Lounge tomorrow.

‘She was supposed to be performing but that’s now not happening tomorrow but it will be happening at a later date.’

Liam starred in boy band One Direction, alongside his former bandmates Harry, 30, Niall Horan, 31, Zayn Malik, 31, and Louis Tomlinson, 32.

Perrie dated Zayn from December 2011 until 2015, after meeting on set of the X Factor.

The singer is still close with Liam’s ex and former X Factor judge Cheryl, with whom he shares a son Bear, seven. They were together from 2016 until 2018.

Perrie admitted earlier this year that she still calls Cheryl ‘every five seconds for advice’ as she geared up to launch her own solo career.

Perrie dated Liam’s bandmate Zayn from December 2011 until 2015, after meeting on set of the X Factor (pictured in 2014)

Perrie added: ‘It’s devastating I can’t imagine how they must be feeling now. I didn’t think it was real when I read it, it’s in the air and everyone can feel it’

One Direction found superstardom after appearing on the UK factor in 2010 and went on to sell a whopping 70M records worldwide (pictured in 2010)