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LIAM Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy has told of their fairytale romance and said she had loved him since she was a child.

The heartbroken influencer said she planned to marry the One Direction star and have kids with him.

Kate Cassidy and Liam Payne at an outdoor art installation.
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Liam Payne's girlfriend Kate Cassidy has shared intimate photos of the pair's life togetherCredit: Dan Charity
Kate Cassidy and Liam Payne at Disneyland.
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Liam and Kate enjoying a day at Disney World in FloridaCredit: Dan Charity
A woman eating a pastry while a man with tattoos watches.
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The couple met in a bar in South Carolina, in September 2022Credit: Dan Charity
Liam Payne and Kate Cassidy with their new dog.
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Liam with Nala, the dog they adopted togetherCredit: Instagram

Kate, 25, said: “Liam was my childhood crush. I have loved him since I was ten. I think we were meant to meet.

“Growing up, I had posters on walls. I think I had a One Direction one but I don’t know if I had his solo poster. But I did have him at some point on my wall.

“Yeah, I probably did the One Direction dance routines — Liam was a pretty good dancer.”

She said: “He was genuinely one of the best people I’ve ever met in my life. I didn’t care about the other stuff. Our relationship was full of love and laughter and light.”

While much of the couple’s life together was documented online, Kate has shared intimate, never- before-seen videos and pictures with The Sun, showing them at home and on romantic holidays.

They include one of the last snaps taken of the 31-year-old singer before his death.

It showed him smiling on horseback on their final morning together in Argentina.

Others show the loved-up pair travelling the world together, taking in the sights of places such as Disneyland Florida, Dubai, Lapland and Paris — or simply enjoying the company of Nala, the dog they adopted together shortly before Liam’s untimely death.

Kate also told The Sun how they met in a bar in Charleston, South Carolina, in September 2022, and that Liam got her number and asked her out.

His first message said simply: “Hey it’s Liam.”

Kate Cassidy and Liam Payne with their dog in Florida.
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Kate shared a video of herself and Liam enjoying the company of their dog Nala
Woman in a winter hat being pulled on a sled by a man in a fur hat.
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Another video shared by Kate showed the pair having fun in LaplandCredit: Dan Charity
Liam Payne and his girlfriend in front of a stone fireplace.
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Kate and Liam enjoying each other's company in LaplandCredit: Dan Charity
Liam Payne's girlfriend Kate Cassidy opens up exclusively about the star's final days

The pair went bowling on their first date.

The smitten star delayed his flight back to London, and the couple checked into a hotel for the next 48 hours.

It is clear they fell hard and fast for one another.

Kate said: “I was definitely kind of starstruck but mainly I was thinking about the connection we had. We lived on different sides of the world. It didn’t occur to me we might end up dating.”

She added: “We were lying in bed watching a movie, and he said ‘would you like to be my girlfriend and would you want to move in with me? Like, I really love you.’

“What movie? I’m not sure but probably a Disney one, we watched them all the time — Liam loved the classic Disney princess films.”

She told how they had plans together, cut short when Liam fell to his death from a hotel balcony in Argentinian capital Buenos Aires in October.

Mirror selfie of a couple; the woman holds a bottle of champagne.
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The loved-up couple posed for a mirror selfie in Florida in another clipCredit: Dan Charity
Selfie of Kate Cassidy and Liam Payne on a balcony in Paris.
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Kate says Liam was her childhood crushCredit: Dan Charity
Kate Cassidy and Liam Payne at Ascot.
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Kate shared this photo of her with Liam at AscotCredit: Dan Charity
Photo of a man and woman in a car; the man is making a funny face.
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Kate and Liam's plans were cut short when Liam fell to his death from a hotel balcony in OctoberCredit: Instagram
Liam Payne's Snapchat photo of himself with Kate Cassidy and horses in Buenos Aires.
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Kate shared one of the last snaps taken of Liam in which the late star is seen smiling on horseback in ArgentinaCredit: Snapchat
Kate Cassidy and Liam Payne in a selfie.
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The pair pose for a cute selfieCredit: @katecass / instagram

Kate said: “Obviously every couple has future plans and me and Liam always spoke about our future together.

“We wanted to have a future together, we always spoke about marriage and kids down the line.

“We definitely wanted that for each other, and with each other.”

A week after Liam’s death, Kate shared a note he left her online.

We wanted to have a future together, we always spoke about marriage and kids down the line

Kate

It detailed their fascination with angel numbers and manifestation — an ideology popular on TikTok but dating back to the Pythagoreans in the sixth century BC.

The number 444 is said to signify love and guidance.

Liam’s message read: “Me and Kate to marry within a year/engaged & together forever 444.”

Close-up of a hand with small tattoos on the fingers.
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Four was the couple’s angel number and Kate has a tattoo of the number on the same finger Liam had his

Four was the couple’s angel number — and Kate has four tattoos in tribute to Liam, including the number four on the same finger Liam had his.

It means she has a permanent reminder of the man she loved, along with all the pictures — and the memories.

Kate said: “It’s so hard to pick a favourite memory but I like going back to our Northern Lights trip, which is a trip we genuinely used to speak about after every single day. We behaved just like kids, running around, laughing and sledding.

“We were so in love. Liam showed me this fairytale and the world, and I showed him this kind of sense of normality in life.”

Kate and Liam's relationship timeline

It is clear they fell hard and fast for one another after meeting in 2022.

  • September 2022 - Liam Payne and Kate Cassidy met in a bar in Charleston, South Carolina and went on a bowling date shortly after.
  • October 2022: Liam and Cassidy were seen celebrating Halloween together.
  • November 2022: They made their relationship public.
  • January 2023: Cassidy made their relationship Instagram official.
  • May 2023: Split rumours surfaced.
  • June 2023: They were seen together in London in June 2023, dispelling split fears.
  • October 12 2024: Kate shared on her social media that she flew back to Miami on October 12 while Liam had stayed behind.
  • October 16 2024 Liam fell to his death from a hotel balcony in Argentinian capital Buenos Aires.
Kate Cassidy and Liam Payne in life vests hugging.
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The heartbroken influencer said she planned to marry the One Direction starCredit: Dan Charity
Selfie of Liam Payne and Kate Cassidy in Paris.
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The loved-up pair on a trip to ParisCredit: Dan Charity
Liam Payne and Kate Cassidy at a garden.
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'He was genuinely one of the best people I’ve ever met', says mourning Kate
One Direction band members at a press conference.
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A young Liam snapped in 2010, when he was part of One DirectionCredit: PA:Press Association
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