The One Direction singer, 30, died in October after falling from the third-floor balcony of the Casa Sur hotel in Buenos Aires, and his influencer partner, 26, has spoken for the first time about the last time she saw him alive, revealing the singer's final sentence to her just days before his death in Argentina.
She said he told her: "You're acting like this is the last time you are ever gonna see me again."
He uttered the words as Cassidy was leaving to catch a flight back to Florida.
Cassidy, who had been in a relationship with Payne until shortly before his death, made the admission while speaking candidly about the singer's struggles with addiction and mental health during an appearance on the On Purpose podcast with Jay Shetty.
Payne's death was ruled as caused by polytrauma – multiple traumatic injuries to the body – following a night of drug and alcohol use.
According to Argentina's National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor's Office, five individuals, including the hotel manager, a receptionist and a friend of Payne, have been charged with manslaughter.
Cassidy recalled their emotional final goodbye, saying: "I remember sitting there with him and I was going on and on and on about how much I love him and he laughed and interrupted me and was like: 'Kate you're gonna miss your flight your car is in the driveway.'"
She said she responded with laughter, unaware it would be the last time she saw him.
"To look back in time and know that that was the last time I was ever gonna see him again is just so chilling," she said.
Cassidy added: "Our last goodbye, I wouldn't have wanted it to be any differently."
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