Liam Payne's girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, left Argentina just a few days before he fell from the third floor of his hotel balcony to his death at the age of 31. The former One Direction member died on Wednesday, several local news sources confirmed. Payne's body was found in the hotel's inner courtyard, where law enforcement, according to GMA, pronounced him dead.
On Monday, Kate, 37, posted a video on TikTok showing she was returning to her home in Florida after spending two weeks with Liam in Argentina. She added that she had originally planned was to stay in Argentina for just "five days," and she was "so ready to leave."
The Final Goodbye
"I was just like, I need to go home," she said in the video, which documented her flight back to the US.
Before the tragedy, Payne and his girlfriend had posted several photos from their vacation, appearing happy to be together. Kate and Liam originally traveled to Buenos Aires to attend his former bandmate Niall Horan's concert on October 4.
After Kate returned home, Liam stayed in Argentina. In an ironic turn, Cassidy's seat on her flight home was numbered 1D.
She seemed to be in high spirits about returning to the U.S., expressing that she felt "happy" and "relieved" to be back in Florida. Unfortunately, Cassidy only referred to Payne once in the video, mentioning that she had left her Squishmallow behind for him.
Liam's last Snapchat post featured him happily posing with his bikini-wearing girlfriend as they smiled into a mirror. The image was a throwback, originally shared by Kate to celebrate his 30th birthday last year.
Further posts from Liam's final days showed him having a late breakfast in his hotel room, where he mentioned that they had been "waking up at 1pm every day" and had chosen Forrest Gump as their Halloween costume.
Cassidy has not yet addressed Payne's death, and no explanation has been given for why he remained in Buenos Aires.
Sad Ending to a Happy Life
Payne was first romantically linked to the social media influencer in October 2022, and they made their red carpet debut as a couple in January 2023.
Before dating Cassidy, Payne was engaged to Maya Henry from 2020 to 2021. He also famously dated singer Cheryl Cole, with whom he has his only child, a 7-year-old son named Bear.
It is still unclear whether Payne's fall was accidental or intentional. TMZ shared a partial image showing Payne's arm resting on a wooden deck, with his tattoos used for identification. Witnesses said that the former One Direction member was "acting erratically" in the hotel lobby before his death.
He allegedly smashed his computer and had to be escorted back to his room shortly before the incident.
Payne gained fame alongside bandmates Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, and Harry Styles in 2010 after their appearance on "The X Factor."
In 2015, Malik left One Direction to pursue a solo career during their world tour, though at the time, the band stated they were not breaking up. "Ok so Lots of rumours going round," wrote Horan. "We are not splitting up, but we will be taking a well earned break at some point next year."
Payne echoed this bandmate's reaction, telling fans, "So glad everything has been cleared up today and ur support with it is amazing not that we could ever expect anything less your amazing." He also promised "so much more to come."
However, One Direction went on an indefinite hiatus in 2016, allowing the remaining members to also launch their solo music careers.
