Liam Payne’s devastated girlfriend has spoken out for the first time about the One Direction star’s tragic final days – and her heartbreak over leaving him alone before his fatal fall from a hotel balcony in Argentina.

Kate Cassidy, 25, has dismissed cruel accusations that she abandoned Liam before his death, revealing that she had only returned to their Florida home early to look after their rescue dog, Nala.

‘I had a responsibility,’ she told the Sun. ‘We had our dog, and I never thought something like this would happen.’

Liam died in October last year after falling from a balcony on the third-floor of his hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he had been on holiday to see his former bandmate Niall Horan perform. He was 31.

Social media influencer Kate, who met Liam for the first time in 2022, posted a tribute to the singer online a week after his death, describing him as ‘my best friend, the love of my life.’

But in her first interview since her partner’s death, Kate said she never thought he would die at such a young age and that his fatal fall was a ‘tragic accident’.

Kate, who also previously shared a note written by Liam before he died suggesting the couple would marry within a year, said she would have never left Argentina early if she knew the singer’s death would happen.

She said she knew the pair were soulmates from the very first time they met, which was when she was a waitress in South Carolina.

Kate Cassidy , 25, has dismissed cruel accusations that she abandoned Liam before his death

Kate Cassidy said she planned to marry her ‘charming soulmate’ Liam

On October 16, the day of the One Direction star’s death, his hotel room was littered with drug paraphernalia and an opened champagne bottle

Liam delayed his flight home, and the pair spent two days together in a hotel, beginning what she describes as a ‘fairytale romance’.

The devastated girlfriend called the singer the most humble and charming people she had ever met and insisted she was not to blame for the death of her partner.

Kate later left her college plans behind and became a full-time influencer, a career Liam fully supported.

Now with more than 2.5million followers, she has since moved back to New Jersey after leaving the home they shared in Florida.

Kate was at home when she received the call telling her Liam had died.

She said it felt like a ‘blackout moment’, struggling to believe the news at first. She even tried calling his phone – and it still rang.

The content creator admitted she felt blessed that she did not receive the harrowing news via social media.

Instead she had been in the comfort of their home with their beloved dog before one of Liam’s friends called her.

She then contacted her boyfriend’s family and her mother caught the first flight out to visit her grieving daughter as she attempted to process the devastating news.

Kate later realised that her last text to Liam had been completely ordinary: ‘I can’t wait for you to get home and see the house.’ She had spent time decorating their home for Halloween and was excited to show him.

Three days after his death, a worker she had hired to fix the decorations messaged, asking if Liam had liked the Halloween surprise.

She said that was the moment when it finally sank in that he was never coming home.

Liam Payne and Kate Cassidy pose in the evian VIP Suite At Wimbledon 2023 on July 12, 2023

Kate was home when she received the call telling her Liam had died

Liam had spoken openly about his mental health struggles and past battles with addiction. He had tried both therapy and rehab.

On the night of his death, his hotel room was littered with drug paraphernalia and an opened champagne bottle.

Kate said his relapse seemed to come ‘out of nowhere’, and she had never imagined he was in such a fragile state.

Still reeling from his death, she has been seeing a grief therapist and struggles to listen to Liam’s music. ‘Maybe one day,’ she said, ‘but not right now.’

Liam was staying at the Casa Sur hotel in Buenos Aires when he fell to his death after a drink-drug binge on October 16.

His medical cause of death has now been announced to be ‘polytrauma’, a term which means a person has multiple traumatic injuries to their body.

Five people have been charged over the singer’s death in Argentina after he fell from a third-floor balcony of the hotel.

The hotel’s manager, a receptionist and a friend of Payne have been charged with manslaughter, Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office previously said in a statement.

They are reported to be hotel manager Gilda Martin, receptionist Esteban Grassi and Payne’s friend Roger Nores. Two other people have been charged over the supply of drugs.

Due to the ongoing investigation, Kate could not divulge too much information and did not confirm whether or not she had spoken to Roger.

She insisted, however, that when she left Argentina, Liam was in ‘such a good headspace’ and the couple were more in love than ever.