It’s been nearly four months since former One Direction member Liam Payne died at age 31 after falling from his hotel balcony in Buenos Aires on Oct. 16.
Now, his girlfriend at the time of his death, Kate Cassidy, has spoken out about the aftermath of the “tragic accident.”
For context, Kate and Liam started dating in 2022, and in the weeks before his death, they had been enjoying a vacation together. And even though Kate was featured in Liam’s final social media posts before his death, she’d gone home by the time his fatal fall took place.
“I had a responsibility, we had a responsibility,” she told The Sun in an exclusive interview published on Wednesday. “We had our dog and obviously I never, ever thought this event would occur.”
Today, it’s all too common for people to learn of a loved one’s death via social media — particularly in the case of celebrities. However, Kate expressed gratitude that this was fortunately not the case for her.
Kate also admitted that she initially thought the death was some kind of hoax, saying: “I thought it was just a rumor. Or something that somebody made up just to get views.” Although it wasn’t long before the reality became clear.
“Instantly, I just had a bad feeling in my gut,” she remembered. “When I officially found the news out to be true, I felt numb. I tried to call him. I called pretty much everybody.”
Months after Liam’s death, Kate admitted “it still doesn’t feel fully real” that he’s no longer here and that she still thinks about him “every second of every day.”