Liam Payne’s girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, left Argentina just days before the tragic incident in which he fell from the third-floor balcony of his hotel, leading to his death at the age of 31.
The former One Direction singer passed away on Wednesday, as confirmed by multiple local news outlets.
Payne’s body was discovered in the hotel’s inner courtyard, where he was pronounced dead by authorities, according to local law enforcement, as reported by GMA.
Meanwhile, Cassidy was seen in good spirits as she returned to the United States.
Liam Payne and his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, had shared numerous photos from their vacation and appeared to be enjoying each other’s company before the tragic incident. However, just days before his death, Cassidy posted a TikTok video on Monday, revealing she was traveling back to her home state of Florida without Payne by her side.
In the video, Cassidy expressed how “ready to leave” she was after spending two weeks in Argentina with Payne. She mentioned that their original plan was to stay in Argentina for only five days but admitted that she dislikes staying in one place for too long and “needed to go home.”
In a twist of fate, Cassidy’s seat on the way back was numbered “1D.” She appeared to be in a good mood about her return to the States, saying she felt “happy” and “relieved” to be back in Florida. However, she only briefly mentioned Payne in the video, sharing that she had left her Squishmallow behind for him.
As of now, Cassidy has not publicly addressed Payne’s death, and no one has explained why he stayed behind in Buenos Aires. The couple had traveled to the Argentine capital earlier in the month to support Payne’s former One Direction bandmate, Niall Horan, at his concert.
Payne and Cassidy had been linked since October 2022, and they made their red carpet debut as a couple in January 2023. Before Cassidy, Payne was engaged to Maya Henry from 2020 to 2021, and famously dated singer Cheryl Cole, with whom he shares his only child, son Bear, who is seven years old.
Just days before his death, Payne shared Snapchat posts from his time in Argentina with Cassidy, joking about a possible Halloween costume and expressing that he was having a “lovely day.”
At this point, it remains unclear whether Payne’s fall was accidental or intentional. Photos obtained by The Post show emergency crews, police, and forensics teams arriving at the hotel. TMZ published a partial image of Payne’s arm lying on a wooden deck, confirming it was him with a visible tattoo. Eyewitnesses also reported that the singer was “acting erratic” in the hotel lobby before his death, allegedly smashing his computer before being carried back to his room.
An ambulance carrying Payne’s body was photographed leaving the hotel in Buenos Aires, where he was found dead after falling from the balcony on Wednesday, October 16, 2024.
Payne rose to fame in 2010 as a member of One Direction, alongside bandmates Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, and Harry Styles, after competing on The X Factor. Malik left the band in 2015 to pursue a solo career while One Direction was still on their world tour, although the band claimed they were not splitting up at the time.