Liam Payne's 2 Siblings: All About His Sisters Nicola and Ruth

Liam Payne had two special fans in his life: his sisters, Nicola and Ruth.

The former One Direction member, who died on Oct. 16 after falling from a hotel balcony, grew up in Wolverhampton, England with his two siblings. Born on Aug. 29, 1993, Liam was the youngest of the three, but they all grew up with a special bond.

“Siblings are your best friends for life,” Ruth captioned an Instagram photo of the three siblings in December 2012.

Ruth and Nicola were avid supporters of Liam’s career, from attending the movie premiere of One Direction: This Is Us to promoting his solo album, LP1. They also continuously championed Liam’s fellow band members — Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan — even after One Direction’s split in 2016.

In an Instagram post for National Siblings Day in April 2014, Ruth shared that she would be “looking after these two forever.”

Following his sudden death, the family released a statement to multiple outlets, including the BBC, saying they were “heartbroken.” The statement continued, “We are supporting each other the best we can as a family and ask for privacy and space at this awful time.”

Here’s everything to know about Liam Payne’s sisters, Nicola and Ruth.

They grew up in Wolverhampton, England

The three siblings grew up in Wolverhampton, England with their parents, Geoff, a fitter (who puts together or installs machinery), and Karen, a nursery nurse. The family wasn’t always in the spotlight like they are now; even though Liam had a “good” childhood, “there wasn’t a lot of money,” he told U.K. newspaper, The Times in November 2019.

In a September 2021 interview with Hits Radio, Liam reminisced about his childhood, recalling that one of his sisters had a Girls Aloud poster hanging in her room. Cheryl Cole, Liam’s ex-girlfriend and the mother of his child, Bear, is a former member of the band.

“I remember that one quite well, it should have been mine,” he joked.

Liam’s sisters are both married with children

Both of Liam’s sisters went on to start families of their own.

Ruth married Thomas Gibbins in June 2016, and Liam was part of the wedding party. They became parents when they welcomed their son, Ashton Gibbins, in October 2017.

“We are the luckiest to have him around, he brings a different set of qualities and challenges to life but he has made me into the mama i was always meant to be,” Ruth wrote on Instagram in October 2022.

Meanwhile, Nicola married Nick Farnell, and welcomed their daughter, Ffion, in June 2020.

“I feel honoured to be your mummy every single day and sometimes still can’t believe that this beautiful, funny,cheeky little girl is mine!!” Nicola wrote on Instagram in March 2021.

According to Nicola’s Instagram, Ruth and Thomas asked Nicola and Nick to be Ashton’s godparents in May 2018.

“Of course we’ve said yes it will be a pleasure and an absolute honour!! 👶🏻🥂☺️,” Nicola captioned the post.

They regularly attended Liam’s shows

Ruth and Nicola were frequent attendees of One Direction’s shows over the years.

“Birmingham night 2. I will miss this tour when it finishes it has been my favourite tour!! Xx,” Nicola captioned an Instagram collage from the On the Road Again Tour in October 2015.

Like many of the other members, Liam started a solo career following the band’s 2016 breakup. He released his first solo album, titled LP1, in December 2019. His sisters continued being two of his biggest supporters.

“What a night!!! I’m so proud of @liampayne and what he has achieved being there to celebrate his first solo album release was one of the most special memories I will hold onto forever!! We have waited the longest for this album to come out and for liam to be who he wants to be as an artist and I just love it!!” Nicola wrote on Instagram in December 2019.

Nicola and Ruth continued to support the One Direction members after the band split

Although One Direction had gone their separate ways Liam’s sisters continued to show their support for the other members of the boy band.

Ruth has a highlight titled “Harry LOT” on her Instagram that includes footage from attending Styles’ Love on Tour in June 2022 with her mom.

“Me and my mum both said how much harry has never changed from the cheeky 16 year old we met all those years ago! Thank you Harry for such a fab show!” she wrote on her Instagram Stories.

She wrote in another Instagram Stories post, “I never expected to get emotional (and by emotional i mean cry) at the crowd singing ‘best song ever’ before the show and also the cars going past after singing alot to 1D songs, it may have been years ago but we are all still huge 1D fans.”

Additionally, Nicola attended Horan’s solo show in August 2024 and posted photos on Instagram with the caption, “@niallhoran great show and crowd fab to see you doing your thing 💕.”

Nicola and Ruth attended The Eras Tour together

In August 2024, Ruth and Nicola attended Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour together at Wembley Stadium in London. Nicola wrote on Instagram that they had waited for “what seems like forever to be singing and dancing to songs you love and have always loved with a crowed of 92,000 people!!”

“Bucket list concert ticked off and me and @roo0990 will 100% be at the next tour whenever that may be!!! 🩷❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜,” the caption continued.

They are both dog moms

In addition to being mothers to Ashton and Ffion, both Nicola and Ruth are also proud dog moms. Nicola frequently shares photos of her dog, Kingsley, on social media, while Ruth often posts about her two dogs, Brit and Loki.

In February 2018, Nicola celebrated Kingsley’s first birthday with a party at a local dog hotel, captioning an Instagram post, “My little baby boy’s first birthday party!!! #kingsley #puppylove.”

Meanwhile, Ruth often refers to Brit, her labrador retriever, as her “best friend.” Both Brit and Loki were part of Ruth and Thomas’ wedding.

“Because we couldn’t have done the day without all our family members 😊😊😊,” Ruth wrote on Instagram in June 2016.

Liam’s family was “heartbroken” over his sudden death

In October 2024, Payne was pronounced dead after falling multiple stories off a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Local police informed PEOPLE that an investigation is ongoing to uncover the details of the tragedy, and an autopsy will be performed.

Following his death, the family stated they were “heartbroken” over the loss, per a statement released to BBC.

The statement read, “Liam will forever live in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul.”