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Kate Cassidy is looking back at her final "beautiful" moment with boyfriend Liam Payne before his tragic death last year.
Cassidy appeared as a guest on the April 16 episode of the On Purpose podcast to share a vulnerable look with host Jay Shetty at how she's doing after the One Direction alum's death. After sharing the heartbreaking story of finding out the news, the 26-year-old influencer revealed details about their last goodbye before she left Payne in Argentina. He passed away days later after falling from a hotel balcony while intoxicated.
"When I think about the last day and the last words that we said to each other, it brings me this mixture of pain and peace," she said. "It brings me pain because I can't fully still process that the day I left Argentina was the last day I was able to touch Liam, to hug Liam, to speak to him, to be in the same room as him. But it brings me peace because it was such a beautiful last moment we had together."
Cassidy explained that their final day was spent enjoying time together, eating an "amazing" breakfast while in the countryside and even going horseback riding before she took a flight home later that day. When it was time to bid each other farewell, they made the most of it with their tradition of long, emotional goodbyes.
"The way me and Liam would say goodbye to each other, it wasn't just, 'oh, I'll see you later.' Majority of the time it was this heartfelt long goodbye for at least five minutes of just hugging, 'I'm gonna miss you, I love you,'" she said.
The same was true for their final goodbye in person.
"On the last day in Argentina, my car was in the driveway and we went back into the guesthouse, grabbed my suitcase, and we were sitting on the couch and I kept just kept going on and on about how much I love him and how much he means to me and how much I'm going to miss him and that I can't wait for him to already be back in Florida."
The couple were staring a "new chapter" of their life together, moving from England to America, buying a house and getting a dog, and they were excited about the "new beginnings."
"I remember sitting there with him, and I was going on and on and on saying to Liam how much I love him and he laughed, and he interrupted me and said, 'Kate, you're gonna miss your flight, your car's in the driveway. You're acting like this is the last time you're ever going to see me again,'" she recalled. "I just laughed back. I was just like, 'I know I'm being silly, I need to get in the car, I can't miss my flight.'"
She continued, "To even look back in time and just know that really was the last time I was able to see him again is just so chilling. But in a way, I think the way that we said goodbye to each other, I'm so blessed — and this where I get that peace from it — that it was that heartfelt, beautiful "I didn't know of it," but our last goodbye, I wouldn't have wanted it to be any differently... I'm so glad that we had that last beautiful moment together and shared that."
On Purpose with Jay Shetty has a focus on mental health and aims to help listeners feel understood in the challenges and hurdles they face in life. The podcast has new episodes each week and often features special guests to "uncover a side of them we've never seen before." Follow along with On Purpose or catch up on past episodes at iHeart.com.