With the showbiz world still reeling from the tragic suicide of Caroline Flack four days ago, the usually raucous BRIT Awards red carpet was an understandably sombre affair.
And singer Harry Styles, 26, made sure his former girlfriend was remembered, paying tribute to the Love Island star who he was always been fiercely protective of.
Rather than give a statement, Harry wore a single black ribbon to signify remembrance or mourning for the woman he dated when One Direction were just starting out in 2011.
Back then Harry had been harbouring a huge crush on the Xtra Factor presenter for months and reportedly came clean about his feelings at an X Factor party at the W Hotel in London that October.
He described Caroline as 'gorgeous' and apparently did showed his devotion with flirty texts and messages on Twitter.
In August 2011 he told the official X Factor website: “If Caroline Flack is reading this, say ‘Hi’ from me. She is gorgeous!”
He even got his mate Tim Dean – a producer on Xtra Factor – to send Tweets to Caroline in September to persuade her to date him.
And after finally getting together, Harry sweetly took to social media to gush: "Sometimes things happen and you suddenly get a whole new outlook on life."
Things quickly turned serious, with Caroline becoming close to Harry’s mum Anne Twist, while he reportedly met all of Caroline’s family who 'fully approved' of their relationship.
Caroline’s twin sister Jody was even seen dropping Harry off at King’s Cross station as he went to do a gig in Sheffield.
And when Caroline apparently cooled things just before Christmas, Harry is said to have been devastated.
“He loves spending time with her – he’s fallen for her really hard. He’d fancied her for months before they got together and now he’s turned into a real romantic," one of his mates told Now magazine.
“She’s his first big relationship.”
The couple reunited in January 2012, but Caroline, then 32, was mercilessly trolled by One Direction fans for dating Harry, then 17.
Defending his girlfriend against the haters, a furious Harry lashed out on Twitter: “People should think more before they tweet stuff. Never explain, never complain.”
And when Caroline received death threats, she revealed how Harry told her: “Don’t listen to Twitter.”
She added: “He became the mature one at that point.”
Harry gushed that they were 'really happy together', and a frustrated Caroline told Now magazine she refused to let the trolls get to her.
“I keep thinking, ‘What have I done wrong? But I haven’t done anything wrong," she told Now magazine.
"What’s hard for me to get my head around is people saying it’s disgusting. I don’t think it is. If two people like each other and get on, why does anyone else find a negative in it?”
Their three-month fling came to an end by mutual agreement weeks later ahead of his One Direction's first tour of the States.
At the time, a source told The Mirror: “Harry is being realistic about the whole thing.
“He’s going off to America in a couple of days and he wants to be able to commit fully to making the band a success in the States.
“They’ll be back for the Brits, but all in all they’ll be away for two months."
The source added: “Caroline confided in pals about the split, confirming it’s over. She is upset, but they are still on good terms.”
And as the Directioners once again jumped on the bandwagon, claiming Harry had been the one to pull the plug, he defended the TV star in a chivalrous post.
"Please know I didn't 'dump' Caroline. This was a mutual decision," he raged, tenderly adding: "She is one of the kindest, sweetest people I know. Please respect that."
Caroline passed away one day after learning she would be forced to stand trial for allegedly assaulting boyfriend Lewis Burton in a late night incident.
However, Caroline's devastated family today released one of her unpublished Instagram messages in which she denied being a 'domestic abuser' and said the blood pictured in her bedroom was her own.
"I have always taken responsibility for what happened that night. Even on the night. But the truth is .... It was an accident," Caroline wrote.
"I've been having some sort of emotional breakdown for a very long time.
"But I am NOT a domestic abuser. We had an argument and an accident happened. An accident.
"The blood that someone SOLD to a newspaper was MY blood and that was something very sad and very personal."
An inquest today provisionally found she died from hanging but has now been adjourned until August while coroner Sandra Polson examines the post-mortem report, toxicology tests and other evidence.
And Harry's mum Anne posted an emotional tribute to Caroline, sharing a poem about loneliness with the poignant caption: "May you have found your peace @carolineflack."
* Samaritans (116 123) operates a 24-hour service available every day of the year. If you prefer to write down how you’re feeling, or if you’re worried about being overheard on the phone, you can email Samaritans at jo@samaritans.org
