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Louis Tomlinson opens up about his mother's tragic death for the first time

Louis Tomlinson has bravely opened up about his mother, Johannah Deakin’s, tragic death for the first time in a new interview.

The star was left absolutely devastated last May when his mum was diagnosed with leukaemia, with the family keeping her battle private until she passed away in December, days before Louis was due to make his debut as a solo artist on The X Factor live final.

Louis was incredibly close to his late mum.
Louis was incredibly close to his late mum.

Showing his strength, Louis went ahead with his performance as planned, appearing on stage alongside collaborator Steve Aoki for the premier of their new track, ‘Just Hold On’.

The One Direction star visibly held back tears after the performance, which was just three days after Johannah had passed away, as Simon Cowell paid his respects to the family.

Now Louis has revealed that when he first heard that his mother had been diagnosed with terminal cancer he was tempted to quit the music industry for good, but it was her who reassured him and encouraged him to keep going.

Johannah encouraged Louis to stick with his music career.
Johannah encouraged Louis to stick with his music career.

Speaking to SiriusXM Radio alongside Steve, Louis shared: “It’s not something that I feel 100% comfortable talking too much about but just quickly, when i first found out the news I kind of did want to throw the towel in.

“But it was my mum who said to me that I’ve just got to keep going, telling me very sternly that she wanted me to. So I’m not doing it for her but…”

Speaking about the X Factor performance, Louis added: “It was tough but I felt like it was nice for me to almost have a little send off for her.”

Louis fought back tears following his X Factor performance.
Louis fought back tears following his X Factor performance.

Louis and his family were inundated with support from fans, friends and fellow celebrities when news of Johannah’s death broke, with his bandmates, Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Liam Payne, dropping everything so that they could support Louis backstage at the X Factor.

Johannah’s husband, Dan Deakin, later took to his wife’s Twitter page to share her final message to Louis’ millions of fans, with Johannah thanking them for their ongoing support and love for her son and family.

As well as Louis, Johannah was mother to 18-year-old Lottie, 16-year-old Felicite, 12-year-old twins Phoebe and Daisy and two-year-old twins, Ernest and Doris.