‘Hostage’: Payne’s girlfriend had secret fear

A close friend of Liam Payne’s girlfriend has shared the heartbreaking truth behind her decision to leave the pop star on his own in Argentina.

Liam Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy felt like she was in “a hostage situation” with the One Direction alum while deciding whether or not to leave Argentina in the days leading up to his tragic death.

A friend of Cassidy told the New York Post on Wednesday that the 25-year-old influencer agonised over her decision before ultimately flying home to Miami.

Cassidy allegedly told her pal she was worried Payne might turn to drugs if she left but had no other choice after spending over two weeks in the South American country.

Kate Cassidy shared a tribute to her late partner Liam Payne on Instagram on Wednesday. Picture: Instagram.

“She can’t leave, or else who knows what will happen? And if she leaves, what will he do?” the friend said of Cassidy’s thought process.

“But she has other responsibilities, other things that she’s supposed to be doing. So she finally had to make a decision.” The couple had originally planned to stay in Buenos Aires for a few days to attend Niall Horan’s concert. However, the quick trip kept getting extended — despite Cassidy wanting to leave.

“They’re in Argentina and it’s like a hostage situation,” the friend said. “So she tells him she wants to leave, this is after a week. He begs her to stay,” they continued. “She keeps extending her trip, a day, two days. And he just wants her to stay, stay, stay.”

Although some people have blamed Cassidy for leaving, the pal insisted it wasn’t a simple decision. “I get what people are saying, that she should just stay with her rich famous boyfriend,” they continued, “but she wanted to be home in her own bed with her dog. She wanted to come home. So eventually she says she’s going home.”

Payne died after falling from a third-floor hotel balcony a few days after Cassidy flew home. According to a police report, the “Strip That Down” singer had a mixture of drugs in his system at the time of his death, including crack and “pink cocaine” — which is a mixture of ketamine and other drugs.

Cassidy was reportedly concerned Payne would turn to drugs if she left. Picture. Instagram.

He was also reportedly drinking alcohol in the hours leading up to his death. Authorities believe the beloved singer may have been “in a state of semi or total unconsciousness” at the time of his fall.

He was 31.

Cassidy has kept a low profile in the week since Payne’s death. However, on Wednesday, the influencer posted a lengthy tribute to her late boyfriend.

In the social media upload, Cassidy told her followers that her “heart is shattered in ways [she] can’t put into words.”

Cassidy called Payne her “best friend” and the “love of [her] life,” revealing the pair began discussing marriage before his passing.

“A few weeks ago, we sat outside on a beautiful evening manifesting our lives together,” the influencer, 25, shared on Instagram Wednesday.

“I keep your 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.’”

In the carousel, she included a picture of the handwritten note Payne gave her along with several selfies of the couple, who began dating in 2022.

“Liam, I know we’ll be together forever, but not in the way we had planned,” she wrote. “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.”

This story originally appeared on Page Six and is republished here with permission.

Originally published as ‘Hostage’: Payne’s girlfriend had secret fear