Liam Payne’s sister Ruth has insisted the singer will return to One Direction after the popular English-Irish pop boy band’s hiatus is over, despite him signing a new record contract.
The 22-year-old singer announced on Thursday that he had signed a solo record deal, leading fans to fear the band is over for good.
The group also features Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson. Zayn Malik quit the group in March 2015 to pursue a solo career.
“So happy for Liam. I am biased but he is so talented it would have been a shame for him not to release music for two years!” Ruth wrote on Twitter.
One fan asked: “He’s still staying in One Direction though, right?”
She responded: “Yeah, I’m not sure how a solo career in the band ‘hiatus’ would affect membership”.
After signing his deal with Capitol Records, Payne insisted One Direction will always be his “family”.
