Kate Cassidy, girlfriend of late One Direction singer Liam Payne, has spoken out about his death.
“Thank you for all the kind words and love you sent me,” she began in a message she shared on her Instagram Story on Friday.
“I was at a complete loss,” she continued. “There has been nothing real these past few days. I ask and pray that you give me the grace and space to navigate this privately.”
Then she said: “Liam, my angel. You are my everything. I want you to know that I loved you completely and unconditionally.”
Liam Payne and Katie Cassidy pose on the red carpet as they arrive at the 2022 Fashion Awards in London, December 5, 2022.
Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images
“I will love you for the rest of my life,” she added. “I love you Liam.”
Payne died at age 31 on October 16 after falling from the third floor of his hotel room in Argentina, according to state police. Payne’s body was found in the hotel’s inner courtyard, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The English singer was 31 years old.
Cassidy and Payne have been linked since 2022. They made their official red carpet debut in December 2022 at the Fashion Awards in London.
Cassidy often shared photos of herself and Payne together on social media throughout the course of their relationship. She explained how they met in a TikTok video posted in September.
In this March 16, 2023 file photo, Liam Payne and Kate Cassidy arrive at the UK premiere of All Of Those Voices at Cineworld Leicester Square in London.
Kate Green/Getty Images, file
In the video, Cassidy detailed meeting Payne while working at a bar in Charleston, South Carolina. After their initial meeting, Payne and Cassidy had lunch and played together in Charleston, according to Cassidy. “He ended up staying in Charleston for three days after his original trip,” she added at the end of the video: “Everything happens for a reason.”
Payne also made frequent appearances in Cassidy’s TikTok videos. In early October, Cassidy posted a TikTok video with Payne in which she hugs him and kisses him on the cheek. The previous month, she shared a photo of them attending a wedding together in Paris.
Cassidy also showed her love for Payne in an Instagram post in August last year when she celebrated his 30th birthday with a sweet tribute. “Thirty never looked so good. Happy birthday love,” Cassidy wrote. The post included several photos of the couple smiling, standing together and holding hands.
Cassidy has over 300,000 followers on Instagram and 400,000 followers on TikTok and often shares photos of her travels around the world.
Payne was previously engaged to Maya Henry and they have a 7-year-old son, Bear, with ex-girlfriend Cheryl Cole.
