Liam Payne’s girlfriend has said she would “never have left Argentina”, if she had known the singer’s death would happen.
US influencer Kate Cassidy – who had been in a relationship with the One Direction star since 2022 – told the Sun in an exclusive interview that Payne’s death was a “tragic accident”.
“No, I never did think [he might die young]… I just never thought this would have happened,” she added, in her first interview since he died.
Payne died in October last year, after falling from the balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was 31.
A week after his death, Cassidy posted a tribute to the singer online, describing him as “my best friend, the love of my life”.
She also posted a photo of a note written by Payne shortly before he died, suggesting the couple would marry within a year.
The 25-year-old told the Sun: “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”.
She added that she never thought her travelling separately from him “would turn out the way it did”.
Payne had been in Argentina on holiday to see his former bandmate Niall Horan in concert.
Cassidy said that she had left Argentina and returned to their Florida home alone to take care of their dog, Nala.
“I had a responsibility, we had a responsibility. We had our dog and obviously I never, ever thought this event would occur,” she explained.
She added that “Liam was in such a good headspace when I left”.
Reuters
Liam Payne performed as part of a concert in September to celebrate Paris as host for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games
Payne’s sudden death sparked a debate about the music industry’s duty of care for young stars.
Toxicology tests conducted shortly after his death revealed traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in Payne’s body, the prosecutor’s office in Argentina said.
The cause of his death was confirmed as “polytrauma” – a term for multiple traumatic injuries – at the opening of a UK inquest held in Buckinghamshire recently.
According to the Sun, Cassidy has since left their Florida home and moved back to New Jersey.
Cassidy said she believed they were “soulmates” from the first time they met, and that it “still doesn’t feel fully real” that he’s no longer there.
“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,” she said adding: “That he won’t be there with me to navigate through this life, that I’ll have to deal with this without him by my side… it’s really hard.”
The couple met in 2022, when Cassidy was a waitress in South Carolina, the paper reported.
When she got the call about Payne’s death from a friend of his, she said: “I feel like I just completely blacked out. When I officially found the news out to be true, I felt numb. I tried to call him. I called pretty much everybody.”
She told the Sun that she still calls Payne’s phone to hear his voicemail recording, and that while she used to fall asleep to his music, she can no longer play it.
“Maybe one day,” she added.
“We were in such a great place, just full of love; he was so happy and positive… you never truly know what tomorrow will bring, you never know.”
