Liam Payne’s girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, is reflecting on the late One Direction member’s “tragic” death in her first sit-down since he passed away in October 2024 after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina.
“It still doesn’t feel fully real for me that he’s not here,” the influencer told the Sun Wednesday.
“I’m trying to be the best I can be, but I feel like my life has changed so much. I think about Liam every second of every day.”
Cassidy, who revealed in October that Payne planned to marry her, said “from the moment I met Liam, I genuinely believed we were soulmates.”
“He was the most humble, charming, normal person you could ever hope to come across, and genuinely one of the best people I’ve ever met in my life,” she continued to gush, calling what occurred “a tragic accident.”
Cassidy was on vacation with Payne in Buenos Aires in the weeks leading up to his death, but she left alone a few days early, which in part caused him to spiral as he did not want her to leave.
“He wanted her to stay. She says he begged her to stay,” a friend previously told The Post.
Cassidy, 25, explained to the Sun that she and Payne often travelled “separately” so this would not have been the first time and she “had a responsibility” to care for their dog back in Florida.
“We had our dog and obviously I never, ever thought this event would occur,” she said.
“Love is so optimistic, and you just hope that everything will work out at the end. Obviously if I knew, if I could see into the future, I would never have left Argentina.”
The TikTok star also shared in the interview that she felt “blessed” that she did not find out about Liam’s death on social media, despite her scrolling on the app at the time.
Instagram/kateecass
“I feel blessed I didn’t find out over social media because I just couldn’t even imagine that,” she said. “I was in our home with our dog, scrolling TikTok and one of Liam’s friends called me.”
Cassidy said she went “blank” and “blacked out” in that moment because she was in disbelief.
“I didn’t believe it at first. I thought it was just a rumor. Or something that somebody made up just to get views,” she said.
“Then instantly I just had a bad feeling in my gut. I was like, ‘Why would somebody make this up? Is this true?’ And I feel like I just completely blacked out.”
Cassidy said it took her some time to accept the news and she would still “call” Payne.
“Then I was in touch with his family, and my mum got the first flight out to be with me,” the influencer shared.
“I remember pacing around the house — poor [dog] Nala thought I was trying to play, she kept jumping up at me. I didn’t sleep at all that night.”
Following Payne’s death, a toxicology report showed he had ingested multiple drugs before his fatal fall. A police investigation also revealed he had partied with prostitutes and consumed booze with them.
The Post previously learned that Cassidy was left “hurt” over some of the darker details about Payne’s passing, with a source saying it was all “obviously a huge betrayal.”
When asked about what may have caused the “Story of My Life” singer to relapse, Cassidy told the Sun, “I don’t think I want to answer that because I literally wouldn’t even know.”
She also did not comment on the pending police investigation but said she is “not to blame.”