- Liam Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy spoke about her experience with grief, his passing, and the trolling from fans
- Cassidy is an influencer and had been dating Payne since 2022
- She was interviewed exclusively by The Sun in a two-part interview
Liam Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy interviewed with The Sun on February 5. It was Cassidy’s first interview since her boyfriend died in October 2024. The second part of the interview was released on February 6. Payne sadly died after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aries, Argentina. Thousands of tributes poured in from fans across the world, including the One Direction boys across Instagram. Cassidy and Payne had been together for two years. In her interview, Cassidy spoke about her grief, Payne’s presence in her life and the reaction from fans towards her.
The almost eight-minute interview detailed many things, including her feelings of grief, the aftermath of Payne’s death, and why she left Argentina. The internet had a mixed reaction to the interview, some thought she was greedy and looking for money, whereas others supported her right to speak out.
Read More: Liam Payne’s Girlfriend Breaks His Silence After His Death
Cassidy released a statement before her interview was published, explaining the reasoning behind it. She also directly addressed the fans, saying she hoped the interview would help the Directioners who are”seeking clarity” about his passing.
You can read the statement below.
In part 2 of the interview, Cassidy recalled fond memories with the One Direction star, the death threats she received, and their first meeting. In part 2 of the interview, we will break down everything Cassidy said about her relationship with the fans and Payne.
What did journalist Clemmie Moodie say about Kate Cassidy’s interview?
Part 2 of the interview, which is also behind a paywall, reveals unseen photos and videos of the two together. Journalist Clemmie Moodie, who interviewed Cassidy was also interviewed about her chat with the influencer on the British morning show This Morning.
On Cassidy, Moody said: “She was shy, she was very image-conscious, which I think is normal for someone who is 25 years old who has grown up on camera. That generation, that is their life. I got the impression that she was lovely, she was very nervous. She didn’t want to upset anyone or offend anyone. But at the same time, she was scared to get something wrong. That was so sad to see, grief does funny things to people.”
Moodie defended Cassidy, remarking that she had “lost the love of her life” and “had her life mapped out” with Payne.
Moodie also said that Cassidy’s team “approached her in December” for an interview.
Moodie went on to say that Cassidy’s motivation for the interview was to “pay tribute to Liam” and share their love story. Also, she suspected a part of it was to debunk any rumors out there about Payne and his passing.
The journalist was asked how she was coping, and Moodie said she got “emotional” when she spoke about not seeing Payne ever again and their favorite holiday in Lapland. She said the influencer cried “two or three times” when she “wasn’t thinking”.
On her future, Moodie said that Cassidy said it was “too soon” to think about, but that she wanted to help people with addiction. What a noble pursuit!
What did Liam Payne’s girlfriend say about the fans?
On February 6, The Sun released part 2 of the interview with the young influencer. The two met while Cassidy was working as a server in a bar, Cassidy recalled. She was told that Payne was at her workplace before coming in.
Recalling their meeting, Cassidy said: “I kind of just went up to him. I was so nervous at first and I turned around, around the corner. At the exact moment, we’ve spoken about it, he said, “I’m not leaving the bar until I get this girl’s number.”
Talk about a meet-cute! Cassidy worked in Charleston, South Carolina. When they met, the influencer said she believed they were “soul-ties” and they were “meant to meet”.
The 25-year-old never thought she’d be dating a One Direction member, let alone Liam. She was living every girl’s Wattpad dream!
She said she was excited to talk to him more.
First date
Fondly Cassidy recalled her first date with Payne, saying they bowled and went to lunch together and met the next day. Cassidy recalled he was “charming”.
Moodie spoke about knowing Payne as well, recalling her positive memories with him.
“Even my friends who met him at first were like, ‘This is so random’. He is genuinely just the most humble, normal person that you would ever come across. And he really impacted so many people, especially me. Our relationship was just so full of love, laughter, and light,” Cassidy shared.
She described him as the best person she’d met in her life.
On the first date, she recalled she was nervous and she spoke with her friend about her outfit before the date.
Sweetly, Cassidy described the singer as her “childhood crush”. She recalled having a One Direction poster on her wall. Iconic. She claimed she has loved “him since she was ten”. You and every Gen Z girl out there!
What did she say about One Direction?
The burning question was asked, and Cassidy said her favorite One Direction songs are Best Song Ever and Little Things. Nothing is better than Little White Lies, though.
The 25-year-old also spoke about the reunion potential and the band. “I think everyone had hoped for One Direction to do a reunion at some point. One Direction was such a huge part of his life, and he would’ve been more than happy in the future to do that,” Cassidy said.
Fan reaction
When asked about the fan reaction, Cassidy said: “I’m getting so much support and love from the fans, and I know that’s what Liam would want. I understand that some of the more negative comments come from a place of love and concern, you know, caring for Liam. I understand that because I love Liam too.”
Cassidy says at the minute she can’t listen to One Direction or Payne’s songs because it makes her “emotional”. She says she will be able to one day, but not yet.
She also said she was listening to his music to fall asleep during her grief, but she stopped because it didn’t help. On what Liam would want, she said he would want her to be “as strong as she can” and “have thick skin”, which is something he taught her how to do. Cassidy and Payne’s relationship has been at the center of the media in the same way that previous relationships in the group were. Does anyone remember Zerrie?
Fan threats
Heartbreakingly, Cassidy confirmed she had received death threats following Payne’s passing. “Some of my DMs…I can’t even put it into words exactly. That’s why I had to delete social media for a little bit. Still, sometimes, I’ll take a break from it. But I’ll always find myself redownloading it the day after.”
The way she copes is by doing that it seems. Cassidy remains firm on staying strong and denied that she’d reported any of the Directioners.
“I’m never going to let anybody tell me how my relationship was with Liam. Because at the end of the day, the only two people who really know how strong our relationship was were me and Liam. I know that our relationship was so authentic and real. It’s something that you’d literally see out of a movie.”
A tattoo
Cassidy revealed on her ring finger on her right hand, that she got a number four tattoo. Four was a special number to her and Payne, and the number was part of many fan tributes. She also revealed Payne had the same tattoo, and that they’d talk about getting matching ones.
The influencer said she also felt his presence in dreams and in person. On her favorite photo, she said it was a photo of her and Payne in snow gear, with her face covered by a pink scarf while they went to see the Northern Lights. At this point, Cassidy got emotional in the interview and began to cry recalling her memories on the trip.
Last day together
Moodie asked her about her last day in Argentina with Payne.
“I think based on the way that everything happened, I am so blessed to have spent such a lovely last day with Liam in Argentina. On our last day, we were in a countryside home, we woke up, we had a lovely breakfast. We went horseback riding, it was beautiful. Even now looking back at things again, it is kind of unsettling I posted a TikTok of different photos of our last day in Argentina, and literally I think it was when I was at the airport. And I just captioned it, the last photo was a photo of Liam on a horse, I captioned it ‘I’m so grateful for the simple things in life,” Cassidy told Moodie.
The TikTok photo compilation is still on Cassidy’s page.
Liam’s state of mind
When asked about his mental state, Cassidy said he was “so positive, so happy”. Moodie rounded out the interview by asking Cassidy if Payne was there now what advice she thought he’d give her.
“He’d tell me, ‘Just please, take care of yourself because I can’t take care of you anymore’,” she finished.
Cassidy ended the interview by saying she talks to him and she “knows he is listening”.
Now we KNOW we are cutting onions.
After such a hard four-month journey, you can’t wish anything but the best for the young woman on her grief journey.
