Kate Cassidy reflected on her romance with the late Liam Payne while revisiting the site of one of their former dates.
“I thought this place would feel empty without you, but instead, it’s filled with the warmth of this moment we shared,” Cassidy, 25, wrote via Instagram on Friday, February 28, sharing images at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s famed lamppost outdoor exhibit.
The first image Cassidy uploaded was a throwback photo of the couple posing outside of LACMA. The influencer wore a baby blue minidress with a matching Chanel handbag as she rested a hand on Payne’s chest. In a second photo, Cassidy stepped out solo in a pair of oversized gray sweatpants and a white hoodie.
Cassidy dated Payne from 2022 until his sudden death in 2024. News broke last October that the One Direction singer had suffered a fatal fall from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires. He was 31. (While Cassidy traveled with Payne to Argentina, she left days before his death.)
One Direction alum Liam Payne had been dating influencer Kate Cassidy for two years before he died at age 31 in October 2024. Payne and Cassidy were first linked in October 2022, and Cassidy posted the singer on her Instagram page just one month before Us Weekly confirmed news of his death on October 16. […]
“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 told The Sun last month. “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.”
She added, “I’m trying to be the best I can be, but I feel like my life has changed so much. I think about Liam every second of every day.”
In addition to Cassidy, Payne is survived by his parents, his sisters and his 7-year-old son Bear, whom he shared with ex Cheryl Cole. Payne’s cause of death was listed as “multiple traumas” resulting from the fatal fall. An autopsy also revealed traces of multiple drugs in Payne’s system at the time of his passing.
Cassidy, for her part, has been candid about navigating the loss of her “soulmate,” Payne.
“I don’t even know where to begin. My heart is shattered in ways I can’t put into words. I wish you could see the huge impact you’ve had on the world, even as it feels so dark right now,” she wrote via Instagram in October 2024. “You brought so much happiness and positivity to everyone — millions of fans, your family, friends and especially me. You are so incredibly loved.”
Cassidy added, “You are — because I can’t say were — my best friend, the love of my life and everyone you touched felt just as special as I did. Your energy was contagious, lighting up every room you walked into. None of this feels real, and I can’t wrap my head around this new reality of not having you here. I’m struggling to figure out how to live in a world without you by myself. Together, we got to be kids again, always finding joy in the smallest things.”
Cassidy traveled to England later that month for Payne’s funeral alongside his relatives and famous friends, including his fellow One Direction bandmates.
