Louis Tomlinson's mother, Johannah Deakin, passed away on December 7, 2016, at the age of 42 from leukemia.
As the ex-One Direction-er approaches the one year anniversary of his mother's death, he is opening up about how this awful situation has affected him over the course of the past 12 months.
While it has obviously been a struggle, for Louis and his entire family, Johannah's passing has actually inspired him to really put himself out there as a solo artist. She encouraged him while she was still here, and Louis admits that it's the memory of her that keeps him going.
The "Miss You" singer chatted with Metro and said that before going on stage at the Royal Variety Performance a couple of weeks ago, he had "a little word with myself."
Louis said, "I think, 'I have got to make her proud.' It’s those things that really keep me going. It’s been a crazy 24 months and a hell of a lot to deal with for someone of my age."
He continued, "Enormous tragedies affect people in different ways. I’m lucky that my mum brought me up to be pretty thick-skinned. There is never any time in my job to sit and feel sorry for myself. I always want to keep going and keep fighting. Of course, at times it is as difficult as it possibly could be...It genuinely makes me a stronger person and creatively it gives me so much depth. I think I am coping as well as I could do, to be honest."
This was one of the rare instances where Louis really opened up about what he's going through. However, it seems like, from him and his siblings' social media presence that they have become extremely close since last December.
Of course, they were always a tight-knit family, but with Johannah's death they seem to have leaned on each other even more.
Last week Louis posted a photo hanging out with his twin sisters, Phoebe Tomlinson and Daisy Tomlinson.
He captioned the shot, "So lovely to see you lot this weekend ! Love you !" Phoebe actually posted the same photo with the message, "Love you so much brother bear! Your amazing ❤️❤️ don't think he was ready aha... 🙊."
On the same picture, Daisy wrote, "Thank you for being the best big brother in the world! I miss you everyday x.
Louis' other sisters Lottie Tomlinson and Felicite Tomlinson were seen on Instagram together at the beginning of November.
She captioned her photo, "Such a sick night! Forever proud of you, none of us could do it without you 💋💘." The photo is super adorable but eye-opening to see how much they all really do lean on each other since last year.
We have a feeling that with the holidays coming up, Louis and the rest of his siblings are going to be spending a lot of time together.
With Louis' recent mentality and the will he has to keep his mother's memory alive, this family can truly get through anything together.
Now - Check out all the celebs who have a SECRET twin 😱
13 celebrities and their secret twins
1 of 22Gisele Bündchen
Yes Gisele Bündchen - possibly the most drop-dead gorgeous woman in the world - has a twin.
2 of 22Gisele Bündchen and her twin sister Patricia
And while Gisele's twin sister Patricia may not be a world famous supermodel, she's still insanely gorgeous. What a pair.
3 of 22Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson may be one of the most famous women on the planet, but one thing you might not know about her is that she has a twin brother.
4 of 22Scarlett Johansson and her twin brother Hunter
Scarlett Johansson's twin brother is called Hunter. The pair are obviously very close, and Scarlett often takes Hunter as her plus one to premieres and awards ceremonies. SO CUTE.
5 of 22Aaron Carter
Remember Aaron Carter (you know, Back Street Boys' Nick Carter's precocious younger brother)? Well it turns out he didn't arrive in this world alone...
6 of 22Aaron Carter and his twin sister Angel
Because Aaron Carter has a twin sister called Angel! The pair are so close that Aaron walked Angel down the aisle at her 2014 wedding. Now that's real #TwinGoals
7 of 22Ashton Kutcher
Ashton Kutcher (or Mr Mila Kunis as we like to call him) has it all. A great career, a massive house (we assume), cute kids, a gorgeous wife... and a twin.
8 of 22Ashton Kutcher and his twin brother Michael
Ashton's twin brother Michael was born with cerebral palsy. Talking about his twin, Ashton said: "I was born a twin and from the moment I came into this world I had to share it with someone. I shared every birthday, every Christmas, I shared my bedroom, I shared my clothes, I shared everything I had in this world and I didn't know that there was another way because I always had my brother with me." So lovely.
9 of 22Alanis Morisette
So... it turns out Canadian crooner Alanis Morissette has a twin brother. Is that ironic? Probably not, tbh...
10 of 22Alanis Morisette and her twin brother Wade
Alanis' twin brother Wade Imre Morissette is also a recording artist, and his music blends indie rock/pop music with Sanskrit and English chants (trippy). Being super-cool obviously runs in their genes.
11 of 22Laverne Cox
Orange Is The New Black star and LGBT advocate Laverne Cox may seem like a true one off, but it turns out she's a twin.
12 of 22Laverne Cox and her twin brother M Lamar
You won't be surprised to hear that Laverne Cox's twin brother M Lamar is just as fabulous as she is. Not only did he play Sophia (Laverne's OITNB character) in some pre-transition flashback scenes, but he also lives in New York where he works as a composer, musician, performer and multimedia artist.
13 of 22Olly Murs
X Factor warbler Olly Murs has a twin brother Ben, who is now sadly estranged from the rest of the family.
14 of 22Olly Murs and his twin brother Ben
Ben - who no longer talks to his twin brother or his parents and blames Olly's career for tearing the family apart - recently took his wife's surname, changing his name to Ben Hart. So sad.
15 of 22Mo Farah
Olympic hero Mo Farah (or should that be Sir Mo Farah - fancy!) has a twin brother called Hassan.
16 of 22Mo Farah and his twin brother Hassan
Tragically, Mo and his twin brother Hassan didn't see each other for 12 years after they were separated by war in their homeland of Somalia at the age of eight. Talking about his bond with his brother in his autobiography Twin Ambitions, Mo wrote: "There's this special connection that the two of you have. You instinctively feel what the other person is going through – even if you live thousands of miles apart."
17 of 22Rosie Fortescue
Posh Made In Chelsea totty and all round cool girl Rosie Fortescue is one of, er, two.
18 of 22Rosie Fortescue and her sister Lily
Like Rosie (who runs a blog and has her own jewellery line), her twin sister Lily Fortescue is also a fashionable business woman, and in 2016 she launched a dating app called Ciao. Nice work, ladies.
19 of 22Siva Kaneswaran
The Wanted's Siva Kaneswaran not only has KILLER cheek bones, he also has a twin.
20 of 22Siva Kaneswaran and his brother Kumar
Here's Siva, er, twinning with his twin brother, Kumar. Looking good, boys.
21 of 22Vin Diesel
Not only does Vin Diesel have a twin brother, but his real name is Mark Sinclair. We know! Like, Vin, who even are you?
22 of 22Vin Diesel and his twin brother Paul
And as you can see, while Vin (or should that be Mark?) got the fame and money, his brother Paul got the hair. I think we can call that even, right?