Liam Payne's girlfriend says she's struggling to accept singer's death

Liam Payne’s girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, has said she is struggling to accept the singer’s death in her first TV interview.

The 25-year-old told STV’s Lorraine programme on Wednesday it is sometimes “hard to get out of bed” following the death of Payne, who rose to fame with boyband One Direction.

Becoming emotional, Cassidy said: “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”.

Liam Payne died after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina. / Credit: AP

The former One Direction star died in October last year at the age of 31 after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina.

Cassidy had been staying with Payne in Argentina but flew back to America before his fatal accident.

She has joined the Lorraine programme’s new mental health campaign, March4March, which is a month-long initiative where viewers and celebrity supporters will be asked to “pledge” a number of steps in March.

She told the programme: “I think that this campaign speaks volumes to me.”

“I genuinely believe Liam, in a way, guided me to this campaign and wanted me to be involved in this, and to help other people,” she said.

Cassidy said that he “was so open about his mental health”, and she is supporting the push as “he no longer can help people”.

She added: “I’m going through this healing journey, sometimes it’s hard for me to get out of bed in the morning and something I don’t want to do.

“But I have this responsibility and this obligation that I am almost in a way…I have no choice. I have to get out of bed (for my dog) Nala and whether it’s a five-minute walk or 20-minute walk first thing in the morning.

“Either way, it just wakes me up and refreshes my mind instead of laying in bed all day just scrolling through social media or old photos, it gets me out of bed and really, really helps my mindset and my mental health.”

Tributes were paid to Liam Payne at the Brit Awards. / Credit: AP

Payne was recently remembered at the Brit Awards. His band, One Direction, won seven gongs at the Brits in total before splitting up.

Payne’s family said they will “forever remember the joy that his music brought to the world” and called for privacy from the “constant media attention and speculation” on Payne’s death.

Last month, a court in Argentina dropped charges of criminal negligence against three out of the five people who had been charged in connection with the performer’s death.

Cassidy has previously said that Payne sent her a note saying that he planned for them to get engaged.

She joined Payne’s family and One Direction bandmates last year at his private funeral in Buckinghamshire.

She added on Lorraine: “I’ll always have so much love for him. He was really one of a kind. He would light up any room he walked into. His presence was just comforting and warming, and that’s something I’ll never forget about him.”