Liam Payne‘s girlfriend Kate Cassidy is speaking out in her first interview since the singer’s tragic October death. In an interview with The Sun published Wednesday, the influencer wiped away tears as she declared: “If I could see into the future, I would never have left Argentina.”
Cassidy left Argentina four days before Payne ultimately fell to his death, according to the judge handling his death investigation. The judge previously said the singer had tried to leave a Buenos Aires hotel via a third-floor balcony while intoxicated.
“Originally, we thought we were only going to be in Argentina for about a week… 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 that this would have happened,” Cassidy told the outlet, later adding, “I never would have thought that it would ever turn out the way it did.”
Cassidy said that Payne was in “such a good headspace” when she left Argentina but that “you never know when [his addiction] is gonna come out.”
“I stuck with Liam through, you know, thick and thin,” she said. “And I think love is so optimistic, and you just hope that… everything at the end will work out.”
The social media influencer said that she was home alone when she heard the news of Payne’s death. “It’s literally blacked out in my head,” she said of learning the news, hoping that it was a lie. “I had a bad feeling in my gut… When I officially found the news to be true, I just fully was numb.”
Cassidy said Payne’s death finally “hit” her when she went to their new home, which she had just started decorating in time for Halloween. Cassidy said she thinks of Payne “every second of every day,” and that she’s been seeing a grief counselor since his death.
After the interview was posted, she shared a statement on Instagram calling the last few months “heartbreaking,” and describing Payne as “the love of my life.” She claims that she agreed to the interview, which she linked in the post, after being asked by his fans for clarity.
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Nearly three weeks after Payne’s funeral service, Cassidy paid tribute to the musician in a social media post featuring video clips from their relationship. Cassidy and Payne blow kisses, watch fireworks, fight over snacks, and embrace one another in a 90-second TikTok video posted Sunday, with the caption “I love you.”
Cassidy previously paid homage to Payne in an Instagram post, sharing photos of them together. “Liam, I know we’ll be together forever, but not in the way we had planned. You’ll always be with me. I’ve gained a guardian angel,” she wrote in the caption at the time.
Payne died on Oct. 16. The judge on Payne’s case charged his friend Roger Nores and two hotel workers with homicidio culposo, or involuntary manslaughter, and ordered jail time to two others who are accused of selling the singer drugs. Payne suffered multiple traumas, including internal and external bleeding, in the aftermath of the fall. Prosecutors also identified alcohol, cocaine, and a prescribed antidepressant in his system, following a toxicology report.
