Liam Payne's girlfriend has said his death was a "tragic accident" and he was in "such a good headspace" when she left him in Argentina.

Kate Cassidy was with Payne in Buenos Aires but flew back to the US days before the One Direction star was killed in a fall from a hotel balcony.

She told The Sun: "Love is so optimistic, and you just hope that everything will work out at the end.

"Obviously if I knew, if I could see into the future, I would never have left Argentina."

The American influencer said she had to get back to look after the couple's dog, Nala.

"I had a responsibility, we had a responsibility. We had our dog and obviously I never, ever thought this event would occur," she said.

Cassidy added: "It was a tragic accident and no, I never did think [he might die young]. But, you know, we did have our own separate lives - this wasn't the first time we have travelled separately.

"I just never thought this would have happened, that it would turn out the way it did."

Payne died aged 31 on 16 October from multiple injuries after falling from the third floor of a hotel in the Argentine capital.

Three people have been charged with manslaughter over his death, and two with supplying cocaine.

| Payne fell from the third floor at the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires. Pic: Reuters

Cassidy, 25, said she thinks about Payne "every second of every day" and that she'd had a "childhood crush" on him since she was 10.

The pair got together in 2022 and she told The Sun it still doesn't seem "fully real for me that he's not here".

"From the moment I met Liam, I genuinely believed we were soulmates," said Cassidy.

"He was the most humble, charming, normal person you could ever hope to come across, and genuinely one of the best people I've ever met in my life."

She said the Wolverhampton-born singer "was in such a good headspace" when she left Argentina.

"We were in such a great place, just full of love; he was so happy and positive. And I just can't even believe the way things truly ended," she said.

| Five people have been charged in connection with Payne's death

Cassidy said she was glad she didn't discover he'd died via social media, revealing one of Payne's friends had called her to break the news.

"That moment, it's like blank; it's blacked out in my head," she added.

"I didn't believe it at first. I thought it was just a rumour. Or something that somebody made up just to get views."

Payne's funeral took place in November in Buckinghamshire, with his former bandmates and ex-partner Cheryl among the mourners.