Kate Cassidy wipes away tears as she remembers Liam Payne & tells Lorraine ‘I still talk about him in the present tense’
LIAM Payne's girlfriend Kate Cassidy wiped away tears on Lorraine Kelly's show this morning as she remembered the singer.
The One Direction star died in October last year at the age of 31 after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina.
During Wednesday's Lorraine programme on ITV, Cassidy discussed Payne's "struggles" and the "poignant" reason for her getting involved with the show's new mental health campaign.
She talked with Lorraine about how difficult it is for both her and Liam's fans to refer to him in the past tense.
Becoming emotional, influencer Kate said: "I find myself talking about him so much in the present tense.
"I don't even feel the need to correct myself. That's part of my healing journey.
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"I'm still working on accepting the fact that he's not here any more.
"It's hard for me to refer to him in the past tense, and when I do refer to him in the past tense it almost stings that little bit more because... it just ... it's more official."
Cassidy also said she has her "harder days, but I'm surrounded by such a great support system that I cannot thank enough".
She had been staying with Payne in Argentina but flew back to America before his fatal accident.
In an interview with The Sun last month she revealed his death "still doesn't feel fully real".
She added: "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."
Payne was remembered at the Brit Awards on Saturday night with a video montage which showed him with his family.
A clip from his time on The X Factor was played and then with One Direction, who won seven Brit Awards before they split up.
On Sunday, his family said they will "forever remember the joy that his music brought to the world" and described his death as an "unspeakable tragedy".
Last month it was reported that a court in Argentina had dropped charges of criminal negligence against three out of the five people who had been charged in connection with his death.
Pete Wicks, Tyler West, Vicky Pattison, Vogue Williams and Ellie Simmonds will share their personal stories as part of Lorraine's month-long initiative March4March.
As part of the campaign, viewers and celebrity supporters will be asked to "pledge" a number of steps across the month of March.
The show is aiming to reach at least three million steps in a bid to metaphorically walk the entire length of the UK, ITV has said.
Kelly said: "I'm so pleased we are launching a campaign dedicated to destigmatising the conversation around mental health.
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"I'm so grateful to the amazing names who've already agreed to bravely share their stories and pledge their support for such a worthy cause.
"I'm looking forward to getting out walking and talking, and I look forward to taking our amazing viewers along with me."
