Kate Cassidy has shared never-before-seen footage of her final hour with Liam Payne.
Cassidy, 27, posted the video on Instagram Wednesday to mark the second anniversary of the One Direction singer’s death. Payne died on October 16, 2024, at age 31 from polytrauma and internal and external hemorrhage caused by a fall from a hotel balcony in Argentina. The couple had been together for two years at the time.
The clip shows Payne lifting Cassidy as the two goof around together. She captioned it: “Treasure every moment with the people you love. Forever grateful this was out last hour, our last video, our last moment together.”
She continued: “Until the next life. I’ll see you again one day.”
Cassidy also honored Payne on her Instagram Stories. Sharing a photo of him, she wrote: “2 years gone without you here but an eternity of memories. My handsome boy, I love you!!!”
She followed that with throwback photos from their first vacation together in Turks and Caicos and a trip to Paris.
The tributes come as new details about Payne’s final hours have emerged from others who were with him that day. Sworn police statements from women present in his hotel room have described a chaotic scene in the hours before his fatal fall.
Payne’s cousin, Ross Harris, recently spoke about the pressures that shaped the singer’s life. Appearing on Good Morning Britain on August 27, Harris reflected on how Payne’s X Factor fame had robbed him of a normal upbringing.
“Even though he was in his 30s, he was still basically a kid,” Harris said. “He didn’t get to grow up like a normal person. It’s a dream, isn’t it? You go on a TV show and become a superstar. That dream can end in the worst possible way.”
Harris revealed he had a missed call from Payne on the day of his death, a call he was never able to return.
“I tried to call him [back] but I think he was already gone by that point,” he said.
Harris had been concerned about Payne’s mental health in the lead-up to his death and had intended to discuss it with him. He had drafted messages to mutual contacts suggesting they reach out to Payne but never sent them.
“I wrote a bunch of drafts to people saying Liam would appreciate a call,” Harris recalled. “I didn’t send any of them because I thought we’d have more time.”
Payne rose to global fame as a member of One Direction, the boy band formed on The X Factor in 2010. The group became one of the best-selling acts of all time before going on indefinite hiatus in 2016. Payne launched a solo career and had been open about his struggles with substance use and mental health in the years that followed.