Who is Kate Cassidy? All we know about Liam Payne's girlfriend and their Argentina trip

Liam Payne set off on his last holiday with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy, but was alone in his final hours.

The star, who has died at the age of 31, documented their Argentinian trip with fans, sharing snaps of him and Kate dancing away at a Niall Horan concert and enjoying a playful 1pm breakfast together. Sadly, their time together ended in tragedy this week.

After checking into a Buenos Aires hotel alone, Liam fell to his death from a third-floor balcony. The popstar, who was discovered in an interior courtyard at the Casa Sur Palermo hotel, is believed to have died instantly, after sustaining . The circumstances which led to Liam's death are still being investigated.

At the time of Liam's fatal fall, model and influencer Kate was already back home in Florida, having tired of the five-day trip that had 'turned into two weeks'. On October 12, just four days before the tragedy, Kate told her TikTok followers: "I was so ready to leave. Love South America, but I hate staying in one place for too long."

As the grieves the loss of Liam, many will no doubt be thinking about the woman he spent his final two years with - and who he once declared had made him 'happy to be me' for the first time in his life.

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Liam and Kate met in a scenario straight out of a rom-com, when the then-ordinary waitress served the megastar at a bar in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2022. For Liam, the attraction was immediate, and he asked for her number straight away.

Remembering the sweet meet-cute in a TikTok video shared last year, Kate revealed how a mix-up nearly meant their relationship ended before it could even begin. Kate shared: "Every time I came to the table to check up on him, he'd be like sit down! I have family in London and I was like, 'Oh I'm going to London to see my cousin' and he was like, 'I'd love to be your tour guide when you come'. I was like, 'OK I'm picking up the sense that you're flirting with me'.

"He asked for my number and I didn't realise you had to put the +1 because I'm from America. I just gave my area code, the 201 and he tried texting me and it kept going green, not delivered. He thought I'd put the wrong number in as in like, not interested. I was freaking out all night and then he realised I forgot to put the +1 and it went through."

She continued: "That night, I actually didn't plug my phone in before bed so when I woke up in the morning it was dead. Once he finally got the number to go through, he thought I blocked him because it didn't say delivered. The next morning I texted him and was like so sorry for getting back to you so late, what time is your flight back to England? He was like, before I leave for the airport I can come see you for lunch.

"We went for lunch which went really well and then went bowling and then went on a ghost tour, we basically had one of our first dates in a graveyard. He extended his flight and then extended it again the next day so he ended up in Charleston for three days. That's the story of how we met. Literally, everything happens for a meeting. Don't get off work because you want to go to a party because you never know, you could end up meeting your future husband."

Tongues started to wag in October 2022, after the pair attended a Halloween party, dressed as iconic '90s couple Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee. By December of that same year, Liam and Kate made their red carpet debut at the British Fashion Awards in London, confirming rumours that they were indeed an item.

In 2023, New Jersey-born Kate told her TikTok followers that she had 'manifested' their Notting Hill-esque romance, telling them: "I am the best manifester, and I'm going to show you why." She then went on to show a craft project she'd made as a 10-year-old One Direction fan - a lollipop stick man labelled 'Liam'.

However, Kate also had to contend with a fair bit of sniping from some of Liam's fiercely loyal fans, and even had to deal with people accusing her of being a golddigger. Luckily, Liam was on hand to defend her against nasty comments, once standing up for Kate after a follower accused her of only being in it for the money.

Taking to , the protective boyfriend wrote: "Gotta say you could tell me anything and I couldn't be turned. I've never felt a love like I do for Katelyn. We make each other better people.

"If it was just for the money I'd give her all of it. It's not though (please remember I'm hella sexy) and I know I'm fun and a loveable person. And I don't give a f*** to say that for the first time in my life I'm happy to be me and that's priceless."

Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com. Follow Mirror Celebs on , , , , , and

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