Liam Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy has revealed the couple had ‘our own separate lives’ as she spoke out for the first time following his death at the age of 31.
The One Direction star died in October last year after falling from a balcony on the third-floor of his hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he had been on holiday to see his former bandmate Niall Horan perform.
Kate, 25, was with Liam in Argentina but left a day early in order to to look after their rescue dog, Nala at their home in Florida.
The social media influencer, who is from New Jersey, said she wishes she had not left the trip early but never imagined anything bad would happen.
She told The Sun: ‘It was a tragic accident and no, I never did think (he might die young). But, you know, we did have our own separate lives — this wasn’t the first time we have travelled separately.
‘I just never thought this would have happened, that it would turn out the way it did. It still doesn’t feel fully real for me that he’s not here.’
Liam Payne ‘s girlfriend Kate Cassidy has revealed the couple had ‘our own separate lives’ as she spoke out for the first time following his death at the age of 31
The One Direction star died in October last year after falling from a balcony on the third-floor of his hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Kate, 25, was with Liam in Argentina but left a day early in order to to look after their rescue dog, Nala at their home in Florida (pictured in February 2023)
Kate also said she and Liam were independent and would not be in constant contact when they were apart.
‘When we’re away from each other, we’re not really the clingiest when it comes to messaging . . . it wasn’t super-constant,’ she said.
Kate still calls Liam’s phone to hear his voicemail recording and, although she previously used to fall asleep listening to his music, she finds it too upsetting now.
Kate said she knew the pair were soulmates from the very first time they met, which was when she was a waitress in South Carolina, but that she had loved him since she was 10-years-old, believing that they were always meant to meet.
Liam delayed his flight home, and the pair spent two days together in a hotel, beginning what she describes as a ‘fairytale romance’.
The devastated girlfriend called the singer the most humble and charming people she had ever met and insisted she was not to blame for the death of her partner.
Kate later left her college plans behind and became a full-time influencer, a career Liam fully supported.
Now with more than 2.5million followers, she has since moved back to New Jersey after leaving the home they shared in Florida.
Kate said: ‘It was a tragic accident and no, I never did think (he might die young). But, you know, we did have our own separate lives’
Kate also said she and Liam were independent and would not be in constant contact when they were apart
Kate was at home when she received the call telling her Liam had died.
She said it felt like a ‘blackout moment’, struggling to believe the news at first. She even tried calling his phone – and it still rang.
The content creator admitted she felt blessed that she did not receive the harrowing news via social media.
Instead she had been in the comfort of their home with their beloved dog before one of Liam’s friends called her.
She then contacted her boyfriend’s family and her mother caught the first flight out to visit her grieving daughter as she attempted to process the devastating news.
Kate later realised that her last text to Liam had been completely ordinary: ‘I can’t wait for you to get home and see the house.’ She had spent time decorating their home for Halloween and was excited to show him.
Three days after his death, a worker she had hired to fix the decorations messaged, asking if Liam had liked the Halloween surprise.
She said that was the moment when it finally sank in that he was never coming home.
Liam had spoken openly about his mental health struggles and past battles with addiction. He had tried both therapy and rehab.
On October 16, the day of the One Direction star’s death, his hotel room was littered with drug paraphernalia and an opened champagne bottle
Kate said she planned to marry her ‘charming soulmate’ Liam
Kate was home when she received the call telling her Liam had died (pictured in October 2024)
On the night of his death, his hotel room was littered with drug paraphernalia and an opened champagne bottle.
Kate said his relapse seemed to come ‘out of nowhere’, and she had never imagined he was in such a fragile state.
Still reeling from his death, she has been seeing a grief therapist and struggles to listen to Liam’s music. ‘Maybe one day,’ she said, ‘but not right now.’
Liam was staying at the Casa Sur hotel in Buenos Aires when he fell to his death after a drink-drug binge on October 16.
His medical cause of death has now been announced to be ‘polytrauma’, a term which means a person has multiple traumatic injuries to their body.
Five people have been charged over the singer’s death in Argentina after he fell from a third-floor balcony of the hotel.
The hotel’s manager, a receptionist and a friend of Payne have been charged with manslaughter, Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office previously said in a statement.
They are reported to be hotel manager Gilda Martin, receptionist Esteban Grassi and Payne’s friend Roger Nores. Two other people have been charged over the supply of drugs.
Due to the ongoing investigation, Kate could not divulge too much information and did not confirm whether or not she had spoken to Roger.
She insisted, however, that when she left Argentina, Liam was in ‘such a good headspace’ and the couple were more in love than ever.
