Liam Payne’s girlfriend explains real reason she left him in Argentina as she breaks silence in first interview

Liam Payne’s girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, has opened up about the reason she left him in Argentina as she returned home before his death.

At the time, rumours were doing the rounds that the pair had broken up after two years of dating. But Cassidy has debunked this as she breaks her silence with her first interview since Payne died.

A UK inquest confirmed the singer’s medical cause of death as ‘polytrauma’, after he fell from the third-floor balcony of the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 16 October 2024.

The influencer told The Sun that if she ‘could see into the future’, then she ‘would never have left’ him there without her.

Kate left Argentina two days before Liam's death. (Instagram/Kateecass)

Cassidy went on to slam conspiracy theories that she’d returned home to the house they shared in Miami, Florida, after arguments and a split. Instead, she explained the real reason is because she went back to look after their rescue dog, Nala.

“I had a responsibility, we had a responsibility. We had our dog and obviously I never, ever thought this event would occur,” she said.

The 25-year-old added that they thought they were only going to be in Argentina ‘for about a week, give or take’ but ended up being there for two.

“It was a tragic accident and no, I never did think (he might die young). But, you know, we did have our own separate lives — this wasn’t the first time we have travelled separately,” Cassidy said.

“I just never thought this would have happened, that it would turn out the way it did.”

The influencer claimed that ‘Liam was in such a good headspace’ when she left him in Argentina.

Two days after she returned home, Cassidy was scrolling through TikTok when she received a call with the tragic news.

Liam remained in Argentina when Kate flew home to their dog. (Dave J Hogan/Getty Images )

She recalled: “I feel like I just completely blacked out. When I officially found the news out to be true, I felt numb. I tried to call him. I called pretty much everybody."

Cassidy described the pair as having a ‘fairytale romance’ and had planned to marry him.

“Love is so optimistic, and you just hope that everything will work out at the end. Obviously if I knew, if I could see into the future, I would never have left Argentina,” she added.

Having lost her ‘soulmate’, Cassidy said she ‘always wanted to be there for him’.

“I genuinely always really did try to do anything I could do to help,” she explained.

“You know, I’m 25, I’m not an expert with any of this, so it was hard. But I loved him and I loved him no matter what. I just did what I could do, and what I could manage to do.”