Kate Cassidy was lounging on the couch in Florida when her phone rang, displaying the name of a friend of her boyfriend, the One Direction superstar, Liam Payne. Cassidy had returned home early from a shared trip, while Payne remained behind in Argentina. "I was in the house, all alone with our dog Nala, nestled comfortably on the couch," Cassidy recounted during an appearance on the podcast 'On Purpose With Jay Shetty.' "He called me, his voice tinged with urgency, asking, 'Is Liam OK? I've heard he fell from a balcony.' I dismissed it, saying, 'What? That must just be a rumor.' I was convinced it couldn't be true."
After an exchange filled with doubt and clarification with her friend, Cassidy was brutally confronted with reality: Payne had plummeted from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires and had passed away at the young age of 31. Weeks later, Payne's toxicology report revealed a lethal cocktail of cocaine, alcohol, and antidepressants in his system, leading authorities to speculate that he may have been unconscious when the tragic accident occurred.
"There are moments when I can discuss it without shedding a tear, but then there are times when I'm rendered speechless by the sheer unbelievability of how I found out," Cassidy confided in Shetty, marking her first in-depth interview since Payne's demise. She elaborated on how her housekeeper arrived to offer solace, soon followed by an avalanche of friends and relatives, her mother among them.
During their conversation on 'On Purpose With Jay Shetty,' Cassidy opened up about her relationship with the boy band member, from their initial meeting to navigating his worldwide fame (and the vitriol she endured from fans), his battles with addiction and mental health issues, and their poignant farewell conversation before she left Argentina to return home to Florida. On their last day together, Cassidy shared, they awoke to "an incredible breakfast" amidst the countryside, indulged in horseback riding, and bid each other an emotional goodbye.
On the final day in Argentina, as my car sat idle in the driveway, we retreated back into the cozy guest house, where I hastily grabbed my suitcase. Perched on the couch, I couldn't help but pour out my heart, expressing how deeply I adored him, how invaluable he was to me, and how much I would cherish his presence once he returned to Florida. Our lives were about to embark on a fresh chapter together, I eagerly shared, with a new house, a puppy, and a recent move to America—my homeland. For two years, I had been living in England with him, and now, we were finally back in my country. The future shimmered with promise and positivity. I vividly recall sitting beside Liam, my words flowing endlessly, affirming my love for him time and again.
He chuckled, gently interrupting me, "Kate, you're going to miss your flight. Your car's still outside. You're acting as if this is our last goodbye." Reflecting on that poignant farewell now, Cassidy describes it as eerily chilling, yet finds solace in its sincerity and beauty.
Following his demise, my compassionate friends, seeking to spare me from the heart-wrenching visuals proliferating on social platforms, thoughtfully uninstalled those applications from my phone.I attended his funeral, a grim rite of passage I had never before experienced. "At 25, the thought that my first funeral was for my partner is still difficult to fathom," she muses. "Trying on my funeral dress was heart-wrenching; I should have been donning a wedding gown, not a mourning attire. Liam should have been by my side for that."
Below is the comprehensive narrative where Cassidy candidly discusses her journey through grief and trauma, their shared love for McDonald's—where he always insisted on collecting the Happy Meal toys—and the signs she claims to have received from him in recent months. "Everything reminds me of him in some way," she admits. "Seeing these signs fosters a profound sense of connection and closeness, reassuring me that he's still here, listening, and not far away."
