Liam Payne’s Girlfriend Kate Cassidy Calls Late Singer ‘Love of My Life,’ Says He Planned to Marry Her

Liam Payne‘s girlfriend, influencer Kate Cassidy, has spoken out for the second time following the 31-year-old musician’s death.

Sharing a carousel of romantic photos she took with Payne during their two-year relationship, Cassidy penned a heartfelt message to her late partner on Instagram Wednesday (Oct. 23) — exactly one week after the One Direction star died by falling from the third-story balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina. “My heart is shattered in ways I can’t put into words,” she wrote. “I wish you could see the huge impact you’ve had on the world, even as it feels so dark right now.”

“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,” Cassidy continued. “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 my side. Together, we got to be kids again, always finding joy in the smallest things.”

The internet personality — who often featured Payne in her TikTok videos — also shared a note her boyfriend had written a few weeks prior to his death, confessing his hopes to marry Cassidy within the next year. “It feels like I’ve lost the best part of myself,” she added in her tribute. “Liam, I know we’ll be together forever, but not in the way we had planned. You’ll 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.”

According to a preliminary autopsy report, Payne appeared to be alone when he died, and suffered multiple traumas and hemorrhages upon impact. The initial toxicology test also indicated that he had drugs in his system at the time of the fall.

Cassidy had previously been with Payne in Argentina, where the couple attended Niall Horan’s concert together. A few days prior to the “Strip That Down” singer’s death, she’d posted on TikTok that she was leaving the country solo.

In the days since Payne died, countless fans and people close to the X Factor alum have also shared messages of grief online — including his former bandmates Horan, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson. Cassidy herself first posted about the tragedy on Oct. 18, asking fans to give her “the grace and space to navigate this in private.”

“Liam, my angel. You are everything,” she’d added at the time. “I want you to know I loved you unconditionally and completely.”