Little Mix's Perrie Edwards speaks out for first time on Liam Payne’s death as she opens up on ‘price of fame’

Perrie Edwards has spoke out about her 'close relationship' with Liam Payne following his 'devastating' death.

The Little Mix star cancelled her BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge performance, after news broke that Payne, 31, had died falling from a third floor balcony at hotel CasaSur in Buenos Aires, Argentina on October 16.

Both bands - One Direction and Little Mix - were formed on the The X Factor just a year apart, and Perrie noted that their careers were very much 'aligned'.

Nearly two weeks on from the tragic death, Perrie spoke out about her relationship with Payne on Fearne Cotton's Happy Place podcast.

The star opened up about her 'close relationship' with the One Direction boys (YouTube/@fearnecotton/)

In an episode which was recorded the morning after news of Payne's death broke, 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.

"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."

She added that the Little Mix members had come together to support each other, saying: "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."

Perrie was formerly engaged to One Direction star Zayn Malik, but now shares a child, Axel, with her fiancé Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

During the podcast, she opened up about the 'dark side' of fame, and how stars in the industry are poorly protected.

Payne died at the age of 31 after falling from a third floor balcony in Argentina. (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

She 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?"

Opening up about her own struggled, she added: "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.

"I bring my therapist to work with me sometimes as I can't cope with the panic attacks sometimes."

Perrie is still close with Payne's ex-girlfriend and former X Factor judge Cheryl.