Louis Tomlinson's Sister Passed Away Not Long After His Mom — "I Felt Utterly Guilty"

Loss of any kind can change the course of your life forever. But when that loss is from your core family — parents, siblings, grandparents — the impact can be far deeper. Your siblings, for instance, are the keepers of your memories and your shared childhood. So, losing a sibling can be destabilizing and difficult in a way that is hard to appreciate from the outside.

Former One Direction star Louis Tomlinson lost not just his mother, Johannah Deakin, but also his sister in just a three-year period.

Louis recently reflected on his sister's tragic death in 2019 and compared it to the loss of his bandmate Liam Payne, who passed in 2024. Here's what we know about what happened to Louis's sister, Félicité Tomlinson.

Félicité was just 18 years old when she was found unconscious in her Earl’s Court, west London, flat in March 2019. According to Marie Claire, the coroner later ruled that the 18-year-old had died from an overdose. She was filled with a cocktail of drugs, the outlet says, that the coroner described as a "perfect storm."

While speaking to The Diary of a CEO host Steve Bartlett on Oct 9, 2025, Louis recalls, "The doorbell rang at like one in the morning or something. And I had this feeling come over me straight away… when someone rings your doorbell about that time, it’s rarely good news. I saw the police car and the policeman, and then they told me that she passed away.”

The singer described initially being numb; “Not only was I in denial at that moment, I just refused to even compute it. It was just like, ‘OK, cool.’"

He added, "Then I told the people I’m in the house with. And obviously then they start crying and your brain starts catching up with you.”

Louis was devastated by her loss, especially since he recalled his mother telling him to look out for Félicité before her death, saying his sister was "fragile." Louis added, "To lose me sister in the manner that we did, even though I knew it wasn’t fair on myself, I felt utterly guilty. I felt powerless and I felt like I’d let me sister and like I’d let my mum down.”

And heartbreakingly, this wouldn't the last of this kind of loss to touch Louis' life. In 2024, he learned that his friend and former bandmate, Liam Payne, had also died suddenly in circumstances that many believe involved drugs.

In the interview with Steve, Liam recalls that when he learned of Liam's death, he “had the same feeling that I had with Félicité.”

The singer continued, "I think anyone has this when they’re around someone who’s struggling — my 150% wasn’t nearly enough. And that’s when it’s my own arrogance thinking that I could have helped really, because it was so much deeper than what I could have done for him." He added, "He was definitely struggling at that time in his life.”

Although Louis has lost many people close to him in less than a decade, his speaking out may be a lifeline for many who have gone through similar tragic circumstances. While you can't wind back the clock and undo loss, knowing that you're not the only one to experience such tragedies can bring comfort.

This makes Louis a superstar all over again, in a completely different way.