Liam Payne's Girlfriend Kate Cassidy Has TV Meltdown as She Remembers Tragic Boyfriend And Says She Still Acts Like He's Alive: 'I Still Talk About Him in the Present Tense'
Kate Cassidy fights back tears during her first TV interview since the tragic death of her One Direction star boyfriend Liam Payne.
March 5 2025, Published 9:36 a.m. ET
Liam Payne's girlfriend Kate Cassidy broke down during a live TV interview while remembering the late One Direction star.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the influencer, 25, told a U.K. TV host she still talks about Payne, who was just 31 when he died, as if he's still with her during the emotional exchange, which aired on Wednesday morning in Britain.
Cassidy admitted she still talks about Payne in the present tense, adding: 'I don't feel the need to correct myself'.
Speaking in her first TV interview since Payne's death in October, Cassidy admitted she was still attempting to "accept" the singer's passing.
She added: "I find myself talking about him so much in the present tense. I don't feel the need to correct myself.
"That's part of my healing journey: I'm still working on accepting that he's not here anymore. It almost stings that little bit more. It feels more official."
Her voice audibly breaking, sounding on the verge of tears, she added: "It's really hard to accept. I never thought I would be talking about him in the past tense."
Watch Kate Cassidy remember Liam Payne in a moving first TV interview on his brutal passing.
Cassidy said her family and friends had been a vital support network for her in the months since Payne was found dead after falling from a third-floor balcony at the Casa Sur Palermo hotel in Buenos Aires on October 16.
Speaking via videolink from her hometown of New Jersey, she explained: "I am trying to do my best.
"I have my better days, my harder days but I am surrounded by such a great support system and that has helped me so much with my healing journey, all my friends and family being supportive and helping me be productive.
“Doing small things like yoga, going for a long walk, anything like that.”
Cassidy was in Argentina with Payne before his death – but left two days before his drug-crazed hotel balcony plunge.
Cassidy revealed Payne's death was her first true experience of grief.
She explained: "It is really hard. I've never lost anyone close to me before so this is my first time going through this grief and healing journey," her voice heavy with emotion.
"He has impacted so many people in this world and I know I'm not alone in this, so many other people are grieving. It shows how much of an impact he had on people's lives.
"He would light up any room he walked into and he had this sense of humor where he could make anything better and his presence was just comforting and warming and that is something I will never forget about him, ever."
Cassidy has angel wings tattooed on her fingers as a tribute to Payne.
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Presenter Lorraine Kelly, 65, noticed the model wearing what appeared to be an angel wing necklace during their distressing chat.
Cassidy said about her jewelry: "It is angel wings. It saw it a couple of weeks ago and it spoke to me and matches my angel wings tattoo. I wear it quite often and it makes me feel that bit closer to Liam."
Cassidy has mostly stayed away from the spotlight since Payne plummeted to his death last October.
Court documents detailed how the boyband star had a drug-fuelled threesome with two prostitutes in the hours before his death after booking them via a sex worker website, after Cassidy returned home to Florida two days before his shocking passing.
