Kate Cassidy, the girlfriend of the late Liam Payne, has opened up about why she left him in Argentina before he died.
Payne, 31, died on October 16 after falling from a third-floor balcony at the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires.
Authorities were alerted following reports of “an aggressive man who could be under the effects of drugs and alcohol.”
Upon arriving at the scene, police were informed by the hotel manager of a loud noise coming from the inner courtyard, where Payne was later discovered.
Audio obtained from the Buenos Aires security ministry revealed that a hotel worker was calling for emergency assistance.
The worker can be heard saying: “When he is conscious, he is destroying the entire room, and we need you to send someone.” Expressing concern for Payne’s safety, the worker also added: “The guest's life was at risk.”
During a December 17 hearing at Buckinghamshire Coroner's Court, Senior Coroner Crispin Butler acknowledged that determining the full circumstances of Payne’s death “may take some time” due to the ongoing legal proceedings in Argentina.
Now, a UK inquest has officially attributed his cause of death to "polytrauma," according to The Mirror US.
Kate Cassidy, 25, dismissed speculation that she abandoned Payne before his fatal fall.
She explained that she had returned early to their Florida home to care for their rescue dog, Nala.
“I had a responsibility,” she told The Sun. “We had our dog, and I never thought something like this would happen.”
Cassidy, a social media influencer who first met Payne in 2022, described him as “my best friend, the love of my life” in an online tribute posted a week after his passing.
In her first interview since his death, she emphasized that the fall was a “tragic accident” and said she never imagined he would die so young.
Reflecting on their relationship, Cassidy shared that she and Payne had felt like soulmates from the moment they met.
Their connection began when she was a waitress in South Carolina, though she had admired him since childhood. Their romance blossomed after spending two days together in a hotel - a time she described as a “fairytale.”
Cassidy revealed Payne had once written a note suggesting they would marry within a year, reinforcing their deep bond. She insisted she never would have left Argentina early had she foreseen the tragedy.
Cassidy was at home when she received the devastating phone call informing her of Payne’s death.
“It felt like a blackout moment,” she said, recalling her disbelief. She even attempted to call his phone, which still rang.
Grateful that she was able to receive the news directly rather than through social media, she said she was with their dog at home when a friend of Payne’s called her.
She immediately contacted his family, and her mother flew out to support her.
Cassidy, who has since moved back to New Jersey, is seeing a grief therapist but struggles to listen to Payne’s music. “Maybe one day,” she said, “but not right now.”
Payne’s funeral took place in November in Buckinghamshire, attended by his former partner Cheryl Tweedy, their son Bear, and fellow One Direction members Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinson.