Louis Tomlinson felt "loved" by his fans in the aftermath of his sister's death

Louis - whose sister died following an accidental drug overdose - shared: "Initially, when the news broke last year, I was bitter about the fact that everybody was talking about it.

"Loads of people were speculating online about what might have happened. I was just told that it was the reality of the situation, which it is, and I had to accept it.

"So that's the negative side to it, but a positive side to it and something I wasn't prepared to feel was the love from my fans."

Louis turned to his fans to help navigate some of the darkest days of his life.

The chart-topping pop star - who first found fame as part of One Direction - told The Sun newspaper's Bizarre column: "I wasn't ready to feel like that, but I really needed it at the time.

"What was difficult was people speculating about details straight away, discussing online what might have happened when nobody really knew, and talking about my family.

"But actually when I looked further almost all of it was kind, and I felt loved."

Louis explained that having experienced tragedy in his own life, he now feels as though he can help other people to deal with similar experiences.

The pop star - whose mother passed away following a long battle with leukaemia - said: "I'm still getting asked about my mum now, but I've grown to understand it I suppose, and I feel like I can maybe help others.

"When I wrote a song called 'Two Of Us', I had fans talking to me about a loss they'd had, and they listened to the song and told me I'd helped them in some way. That makes it all worthwhile.

"Despite how difficult it can be to deal with these things when people are watching, if I have the possibility to help even one person, that's massive."