Liam Payne's girlfriend has opened up about the heartbreaking way that she discovered he had sadly passed away.
Liam passed away at just 31 years old on October 16, 2024, after falling from a balcony in Buenos Aires.
Kate Cassidy, who had left Argentina just days before the tragic incident, shared her story on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast, offering a deeply personal account of her grief, their final moments together, and the signs she believes Liam is still sending her.
Kate, 26, reflected on the day she left Liam in Argentina to fly home to Florida. The couple had a tradition of long, emotional goodbyes—even if it was just for one night. But this time, something felt different.
“I remember sitting there with him and I was going on and on and on about how much I love him and he laughed and interrupted me,” she recalled. “He was like: ‘Kate you’re gonna miss your flight. Your car is in the driveway.’”
Then came the haunting final words: "You're acting like this is the last time you are ever gonna see me again."
Kate laughed at the time, unaware it would be the last time she’d ever hear his voice.
“To look back in time and know that that was the last time I was ever going see him again is just so chilling,” she said.
“I am so blessed that it was that heartfelt goodbye. Our last goodbye—I wouldn't have wanted it to be any differently. I am so glad we had that beautiful time together and I wouldn't change that.”
Kate said she learned about Liam’s death three days later while sitting on the couch at the home they shared in Florida. She received a phone call from one of Liam’s friends asking: “Is Liam okay? I heard he fell from a balcony.”
Assuming it was just a rumor, Kate thought maybe he’d suffered a broken bone. But when no one answered her follow-up calls, panic began to set in. When she called the friend back, the reply shattered her world: “The only update I’ve heard is that Liam’s … dead.”
Even then, Kate said she refused to believe it. “There was just no way, but there was just that one little part of me in the back of my head that was like, why would somebody make this up?”
Then the same friend called again, this time confirming: “Liam’s not here anymore.”
“I still didn’t really believe it,” Kate admitted. “I just kept saying, ‘No, no, no. Are you sure? He probably just … broke a bone. He broke a rib. He broke something.’” But once the reality sank in, she “lost it” and broke down.
Her housekeeper, who had gone home earlier, saw the news and immediately returned to comfort her.
“She put in the garage code, ran in the house and just literally fell on the ground and just hugged me and just said, ‘I am so sorry,’” Kate remembered. “It was just me and her, and she was so comforting and brought me water, brought me tissues.”
In the immediate days after his passing, Kate said she felt no sign of Liam’s presence, and it left her feeling angry and lost.
“I’m such a believer in signs. I believe in manifesting, and I know that he’s with me,” she said. “But for the first five days, I didn’t feel anything.”
She described sitting on the floor of Liam’s closet, sobbing and pleading: “Show me a sign. This is so unfair … I’m so disappointed. I love you so much, but I need you to show me a sign because I don’t feel you.”