Liam Payne’s girlfriend issues heartbreaking tribute following tragic death

Liam Payne's girlfriend Kate Cassidy has shared a statement following his death on Wednesday (16 October).

Payne passed away after falling from a third floor balcony while staying at the CasaSur Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Kate had previously been with Liam before returning back to the US, which she shared in a TikTok.

She has since shared this statement on her Instagram:

The statement was shared on Instagram (Instagram/@kateecass)

Cassidy had been with Liam Payne in Argentina until a couple of days before his death, with social media posts indicating that she'd made the journey back to Florida two days earlier (14 October).

At the time, she'd shared a video to TikTok telling people why she was heading off without Payne, saying: "Travel back to Florida with me. I was so ready to leave.

“Honestly, I love South America but I hate staying in one place for too long and we were supposed to be there for like five days and it turned into two weeks and I was just like I need to go home.”

Tributes have been pouring in from the multitudes of One Direction fans and other peers following Payne's tragic death.

His bandmates paid tribute to Liam's memory in a statement signed by Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson.

They said: "“We’re completely devastated by the news of Liam’s passing.

“In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say.

“But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly.

“The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever.

“For now, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and the fans who loved him alongside us.

“We will miss him terribly. We love you Liam.”

She said she was at a 'complete loss' following Liam Payne's death and would 'continue to love you for the rest of my life'. (Instagram/kateecass)

A tribute posted today (18 October) by Simon Cowell, who helped One Direction get started in the music business when they were formed on The X Factor, had him say he was 'truly devastated' and 'heartbroken'.

In part of his statement he said: "Every tear I have shed is a memory of you.

"This is so difficult to put into words right now. I went outside today, and I thought about so many times we had together.

"I wanted to let you know what I would always say to the thousands of people who would always ask me. What is Liam like? And I would tell them you were kind, funny, sweet, thoughtful, talented, humble, focused."

Cowell spoke of 'how much love you genuinely had for the fans' and said that Payne 'really cared' about the people who wanted to speak to him.

Additional words by Joe Harker