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Kate Cassidy, who was Liam Payne’s girlfriend and with him in Argentina just days ahead of his death, shared an emotional tribute honoring the former One Direction singer.
“It feels like I’ve lost the best part of myself. I can’t imagine a day without your laughter and love. You brought so much light into my life,” Cassidy wrote in a statement she shared on Instagram.
The post, which Cassidy shared Wednesday, included a carousel of images, showing the couple throughout their relationship. Among the images is a handwritten note, with Cassidy saying it was a love letter from Payne, who she said was planning to marry her.
“A few weeks ago, we sat outside on a beautiful evening manifesting our lives together. I keep you note close, even though you told me not to look at it. It said, ‘Me and Kate to marry within a year/engaged & together forever 444.’ Liam, I know we’ll be together forever, but not in the way we had planned,” she wrote in the post. “You will always be with me. I’ve gained a guardian angel. I will love you for the rest of my life and beyond, carrying our dreams and memories with me everywhere I go.”
Payne, a singer-songwriter who rose to fame as a member of the popular boy band One Direction, died after a fall from a third-floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires Oct. 16.The 31-year-old singer was found dead outside the Casa Sur Hotel, said Alberto Crescenti, who is the director of emergency services in Buenos Aires.
“There was no way to revive him. He had very serious injuries that were incompatible with life,” Crescenti said, according to News Day Mundo.
Payne had multiple drugs in his system before the fatal fall, according to ABC News. Citing sources, the media outlet reported “pink cocaine,” benzodiazepine and crack were found in a partial autopsy, also noting an aluminum pipe to ingest drugs was found in the hotel room.
Pablo Policicchio, who is the spokesman for the Security Ministry of Buenos Aires, told The Associated Press Payne “had thrown himself from the balcony of his room.”
Policicchio said police responded to the hotel shortly after 5 p.m. local time for an emergency call about an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”
Payne’s death has left his loved ones in shock.
“My heart is shattered in ways I can’t put into words,” Cassidy wrote on Instagram, addressing Payne. “I wish you could see the huge impact you’ve had on the world, even as it feels so dark right now. You brought so much happiness and positivity yo everyone — millions of fans, your family, friends, and especially me. You are so incredibly loved.”
Cassidy traveled to Argentina with Payne last month, as they arrived there Sept. 30. She chronicled their ventures, sharing a “travel vlog”on TikTok.
Several posts followed, showing the two of them going to concerts, out to eat, bowling, getting coffees, and various other activities. By Oct. 13, Cassidy leaves Argentina and returns to Florida.
“I was so ready to leave, honestly,” she says in a post, adding that the trip was planned for five days but was extended to two weeks.
“I was just like, ‘I need to go home.'”
Three days later, Payne was gone.
“We are heartbroken,”Payne’s family say in a statement. “Liam will forever live in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul. We are supporting each other the best we can as a family and ask for privacy and space at this awful time.”
CBS AUSTIN