Nicole Scherzinger pays tribute to Liam Payne after it emerged they were texting on the day of his death

Nicole Scherzinger has broken her silence following the tragic death of Liam Payne at the age of 31.

On Friday, the 46-year-old shared his emotion A tribute on Instagram to Payne.

With Simon Cowell, Scherzinger formed the late One Direction singer’s boy band, which included Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson, on the 2010 season of “The X Factor.”

“Dear Liam, I will always cherish and treasure the time we spent together, from fifteen years ago when One Direction was born, to just a few weeks ago,” she wrote alongside two photos of Payne and Kelly Rowland. “It was such a blessing to work with you recently. We shared the same love and passion for music and I will always remember the important and joyful conversations we had.”

Scherzinger added: “It was hard to come to terms with the fact that you are no longer here, but I am grateful to have known your kind heart, sweet soul and character.”

The former Pussycat Dolls star concluded: “You brought so much joy, light and laughter into the lives of those who truly knew you. I will miss you, my friend, and I will carry you in my heart. My thoughts and prayers are with your family.”

In August, it was announced that Scherzinger, Rowland (43), Payne and AJ McLean would star in the new film A Netflix series called “Team Building.”

Scherzinger will serve as a mentor and judge, while Payne and Rowland will be the only judges on the show.

The singer also paid her respects while appearing on the program “Good morning America“

“Liam and I have been quite close, especially since we recently did a show together on Netflix called Building the Band,” she revealed. “And yes, I am heartbroken. “I’m heartbroken for Liam, heartbroken for his family, loved ones and friends.”

Scherzinger continued, “Liam always led with heart and kindness, and I truly hope that’s how we always remember him.”

The Broadway star’s sweet words came after revealing composer Andrew Lloyd Webber in an interview Billboard on Thursday, which she had I texted Payne the day he died.

“I guess something that hasn’t been said, and I think I can say, is that she was obviously a mentor to Liam (Payne) from One Direction,” Webber, who composed the music for Scherzinger’s Broadway musical “Sunset Blvd.” he revealed.

“The Wednesday that he died, she was still texting him the same day and (that evening) the reviewers came (for Sunset) and she had just found out he had died,” he recalled. “And the fact that she was on this show at all is extraordinary.”

The musician noted: “I mean, she’s an amazing, amazing woman. She is without a doubt one of the best performers I have ever worked with.”

Payne died earlier this month after falling from the third floor balcony of the CasaSur Palermo hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Boy band alum he fractured his skull and died on the spot According to Buenos Aires emergency services chief Alberto Crescenti, the injuries are “very serious.” He also suffered internal and external hemorrhaging in his skull, chest, abdomen and extremities, which, according to the autopsy, “contributed to the mechanism of death.”

Payne had it too toxic cocktail of drugs in his body, which also appeared in the preliminary autopsy report.

The artist had “pink cocaine” known as Tusi — a mixture of methamphetamine, ketamine and ecstasy — benzodiazepines, crack cocaine and cocaine in the bloodstream, according to ABC News.

It said the hotel was raided on Wednesday evening and law enforcement confiscated computer hard drives and hotel surveillance footage. AP.

Police are working overtime to find who supplied Payne with the drugs and have questioned several hotel employees.