Liam Payne's girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, is opening up about how life for her has changed after his death.
In an interview with The Sun published on Wednesday, Feb. 5, Cassidy talked about why she left Argentina four days before the One Direction singer's death, how she's been coping with the grief and more.
"I feel like my life has changed so much and I think about Liam every second of every day," she said. "It still doesn't feel fully real for me that he's not here. Sometimes I'll wake up and it's a reality I have to face for the rest of my life."
Kate Cassidy speaks out following the death of boyfriend Liam PaynePayne died on Oct. 16, 2024, after falling from the third floor of his hotel room in Argentina, according to state police. Payne's body was found in the inner courtyard of the hotel where he was pronounced dead on the scene. Payne was 31.
When asked about why she had left Payne in Argentina, Cassidy said it was because of a "responsibility" she had to get back to at home.
"Originally, we thought we were going to be in Argentina for a week, give or take. A little less, a little more," she said. "And after two weeks, I had a responsibility, we had a responsibility, we had our dog and obviously I never would have thought this event would have occurred. I never would have thought this would have happened."
When she last saw Payne, Cassidy said that she remembered him being in "a good headspace."
"When I left Argentina, we had such a great day," she said. "We were in such great -- you know, full of love, and I never would have expected any of that to occur."
"If I could see into the future, I would have never left Argentina but unfortunately, I do have -- we did have our own separate lives. This wasn't the first time we traveled separately together. We would quite often here and there in the past, so I never thought this would have happened," she added.
Cassidy said that when she found out about Payne's death, she was at hers and Payne's home in Florida when she received a call from one of Payne's friends.
"I was actually scrolling on TikTok right before I got a phone call and that's how I found out, unfortunately," she continued, adding that she can't remember what was said in the call because it's "blacked out" from her memory.
"I didn't want to believe it at first at all," Cassidy said. "I genuinely thought it was just a rumor. Or some made up thing that somebody made up to get views online. And instantly I just had a bad feeling in my gut. I was like why would somebody make this up?"
"I just blacked out because I was like, this can't be true," she added. "And when I officially found the news to be true, once again I just fully was numb, I just couldn't believe it."
Cassidy said that she tried to call Payne and remembered pacing around her home. She said that she wasn't able to sleep the first night following the news.
"I was almost in a way happy that I couldn't sleep because I was terrified of any dreams I would have," she said. "It would almost be like a nightmare but turned into a reality."
One Direction pays tribute to Liam Payne: 'We will miss him terribly'When asked about his funeral, Cassidy said, "It was a day I will never forget. And you can just feel Liam in the room with you."
Cassidy and Payne had been linked since 2022. They made their official red carpet debut in December 2022 at the Fashion Awards in London.
Cassidy frequently shared photos of her and Payne together on social media throughout their relationship.
In her interview with The Sun, Cassidy said that she and Payne had recently bought a home together in Florida. She said Payne's death really "hit her" when she realized that they "would never be in a home together."
Cassidy recalled the last text message she sent Payne and remembered telling him, "I can't wait for you to come home" and to "be a family again together."
She added that she wrote to him, "I can't wait for you to see the house because obviously he knew I was decorating it."
At another point in the interview, Cassidy spoke about Payne's addiction struggles, which he had been open about in the past.
"With addiction, you just never know when it's going to come out," she said. "It's a serious issue that is under-valued and under-spoken about."
Payne had multiple substances in his system at the time of his death and an improvised aluminum pipe to ingest drugs was also found in his hotel room, according to sources. An Argentinian judge in December allowed for charges against five people allegedly associated with Payne's death to move forward.
A year prior to his death, Payne shared a video on YouTube and opened up about his new outlook on life and fatherhood after finding sobriety.
She said she supported him through it all: "I stuck with Liam through thick and thin and I think love is so optimistic and you just hope that everything will work out."
"He was genuinely one of the best people I ever met in my entire life," she added. "I talk to him and I know he's listening."
