Kate Cassidy paid tribute to her late boyfriend, Liam Payne, on the first anniversary of his death.
“Today marks a full year without you here,” Cassidy, 26, wrote via Instagram on Thursday, October 16. “I will forever hate goodbyes. I miss you Liam.”
Cassidy’s post included a throwback black-and-white snap of her and Payne snuggling in bed.
Payne died in October 2024 after falling from a third-floor balcony at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires. He was 31 years old. Payne is survived by Cassidy, his parents, sisters Nicola and Ruth and his son, Bear, whom he shares with ex Cheryl Cole.
Before his passing, Cassidy had been vacationing in Argentina with Payne. The influencer returned home to the United States a few days before his death. Months after the tragedy, Cassidy opened up about how she regretted leaving the country without Payne.
“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,” Cassidy said in an interview with The Sun in February. “I just never thought this would have happened, that it would turn out the way it did. It still doesn’t feel fully real for me that he’s not here.”
In November 2024, Payne was laid to rest in Amersham, England. Cassidy was in attendance alongside Payne’s family members and loved ones. Payne’s former One Direction bandmates, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik, were also present for the funeral services.
Cassidy has candidly shared her struggles with her grief since Payne’s death. During a sitdown with U.K. morning show Lorraine in March, Cassidy confessed that it’s been a struggle for her to accept that the singer is gone.
“I find myself talking about him so much in the present tense. I don’t even feel the need to correct myself,” she reflected. “That’s part of my healing journey. I’m still working on accepting the fact that he’s not here anymore. It’s hard for me to refer to him in the past tense. It almost stings that little bit more because it’s more official. It’s very hard to accept.”
Cassidy added she was “trying to do [her] best” but still struggles with “harder days” because of the unexpectedness of Payne’s death. She praised her friends and family for being her support system during those tough times.
“I just couldn’t thank everybody enough, all of my friends, my family, for being supportive and helping me be productive,” she said. “I really am trying to be as productive as I can with not just being stuck in my bedroom all day. Doing small things like yoga, going for a long walk … I’m trying my best to do that.”
Two months ago, Cassidy paid tribute to Payne on what would have been his 32nd birthday. She honored the musician by baking a cake.
“Happy birthday, Liam,” she wrote in the August TikTok video’s caption. “I know you still have the sweetest tooth in heaven. I’m not very good at baking these days.”
In the clip, Cassidy got very emotional during the process. While lighting the candles, Cassidy broke down in tears. The clip finished with Cassidy cutting a slice of cake for her and Payne’s dog Nala, whom they adopted from a shelter just one month before the musician’s death.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.usmagazine.com ’
