Liam Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy defended for 'dating' again over a year after his death
Topics: Liam Payne, Kate Cassidy, Celebrity, Sex and Relationships, Social Media
Lucy Devine
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@kateecass
Topics: Liam Payne, Kate Cassidy, Celebrity, Sex and Relationships, Social Media
Kate Cassidy - who was dating One Direction's Liam Payne at the time of his death - has been defended by fans after reports she is in a new relationship.
In October of 2024, the Wolverhampton-born star sadly died after falling from the third floor of his Buenos Aires, Argentina, hotel room balcony. He'd been in South America with Kate at the time, supporting former bandmate Niall Horan, who'd been on tour.
A post-mortem examination report revealed how Payne died of multiple traumas and 'internal and external haemorrhage'.
Since Liam's passing, Kate has been open about her grief journey and after sharing some new videos on TikTok, fans think she may be dating again.
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In one video, Kate can be seen with a man tagged as Michael, who scoops her up and begins spinning her around, to the soundtrack, Hopelessly Devoted to You by Olivia Newton-John.
A few days earlier and Kate had shared another video with Michael, writing 'ugh' in the caption alongside heart emojis.
It's not currently clear if Kate is dating the man in the video, but fans have a lot of thoughts about it.
People were quick to defend Kate, with one person commenting: "Yall better not be hating on her let her be happy."
While another said: "As a young widow who is dating again I approve this message. We love you Kate we all miss Liam and always will but you deserve to feel love again. It’s going to be different as it should be it’s honestly amazing I know my man is cheering me on as is Liam to you."
And a third added: "I’m so, so happy for you kate. you deserve love."
A fourth wrote: "Ya’ll better be nice and let her be happy! Liam would want her to move on and be happy! Yes you can still love someone you’ve lost and move on!"
Tyla has reached out to Kate for comment.
Recently, one of Liam's bandmates, Harry Styles, opened up about coping with his friend's passing.
In a gut-wrenching new interview, Styles both reflected on the life lessons that Payne's passing taught him, and made a heartbreaking admission about grieving whilst in the public eye.
"It’s difficult to lose any friend, but it’s so difficult to lose a friend who is so like you in so many ways," the 32-year-old told DJ Zane Lowe for his Apple Music podcast.
"It’s like, I saw someone with the kindest heart who just wanted to be great."
Styles and Payne had met as teenagers after separately auditioning as soloists for the 2010 series of The X Factor.