Louis Tomlinson "can't ever imagine" the surviving members of One Direction will perform together again following Liam Payne's death.

During an interview for The Diary of a CEO podcast that aired on Thursday, the singer-songwriter discussed the possibility of the former boy band - also comprised of Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, and Niall Horan - reuniting in the future.

While Louis admitted it was a case of "never say never," the British star conceded it's unlikely due to Liam's tragic passing.

The Strip That Down singer died after falling from a third-floor balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina in October 2024. He was 31.

"I can't ever imagine... I'm not sure it would be right to (Liam)," he told host Steven Bartlett. "For the sake of argument, say in 25 years, and it's like a f**king Oasis thing... they offer us an arm and a leg and they're like, 'Come back and do this number of shows.' I don't know... And the irony is, there's no one who would have campaigned more for One Direction to come back than Liam. I'd say I came in a close second."

Elsewhere in the wide-ranging chat, Louis recalled details from the meeting that led to the boy band's indefinite hiatus in 2016.

"I think there's kind of moments where you have to be selfish. It was an atmosphere that you never really felt in the band, because normally... it's all this camaraderie," the 33-year-old continued. "Then all of a sudden, you get someone thinking more independently and more for themselves, which, by the way, they have every right to do. But the room felt cold that day... I've never quite felt an energy like that in the room. There was this emptiness."

Louis also described how he was "crushed" when former bandmate Zayn departed the group in March 2015.

Yet, the Just Hold On hitmaker acknowledged his friend may have opted not to tell him before the news broke, as he knew he would try to stop him.

Louis is set to drop his third studio album, How Did I Get Here?, on 23 January 2026.