Liam Payne’s Girlfriend Kate Cassidy and His Sisters Nicola and Ruth Pay Tribute to Him on the One-Year Anniversary of His Death

The late Liam Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy and his two sisters, Ruth Gibbins and Nicola Payne, have paid tribute to the One Direction star on the one-year anniversary of his death.

Cassidy, 26, shared a black-and-white photo of herself with Liam snuggling in bed on Instagram on Thursday, Oct. 16. “Today marks a full year without you here,” Cassidy wrote in the caption. “I will forever hate goodbyes. I miss you Liam.”

On TikTok, Cassidy also shared a playful video of Liam lifting her up in a grassy field.

Cassidy was met with an outpouring of support in the comment section. Damian Hurley, the son of Elizabeth Hurley, wrote, “love you so much 💔❤️.”

Liam was a member of band One Direction alongside Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, and Niall Horan. The band was formed on the X Factor U.K. in 2010, and went on to become one of the defining pop acts of the decade. Liam co-wrote a number of the band’s hit songs, including “Diana” “Story of My Life,” “No Control,” and more.

Liam died after falling from his hotel balcony on Oct. 16, 2024 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. An autopsy later revealed that he died of “polytrauma,” meaning multiple injuries that involve multiple organs or systems, according to the National Library of Medicine.

A toxicology report released in November by the prosecutor’s office said Liam had traces of “alcohol, cocaine and prescription antidepressants” in his system at the time of his death.

Gibbins, 34, Liam’s older sister, shared her own tribute on Instagram. Beginning the post with a photo of her late brother in a Pirates of the Caribbean inspired costume, Gibbins went on to pen a lengthy statement in his memory.

“1year, 12months, 52weeks, 365days… whichever way I say it, it still means the most heartbreaking truth that you’re not here any more,” Gibbins wrote. “When you used to go away on tour, and l’d cry that you’d be gone for a while, I always knew you’d come back, but now I can’t get you home, I can’t meet up with you somewhere in the world, I can’t FaceTime or text to see how you’re doing, it’s an eternal homesick feeling because we can’t go back.”

Gibbins went on to share that she “underestimated” grief and was “paralysed” by it daily. “I thought I had felt it before but I know the losses before you were just intense sadness, you are the loss of my life, the one person who I will miss at every single occasion in my life,” she continued. “I’d taken for granted that my little brother would be there through life, what a cruel lesson to learn in our 30s, that a sibling is not guaranteed to be a lifer, that I have to face this without you.”

She continued, writing that Liam “shouldn’t have died” at such a young age. Gibbins then recounted “a reoccurring nightmare where I am in your hotel room just before it happened and you can’t hear me screaming for you, my brain is locked on your last minutes on this earth, the unaccounted minutes, the minutes I will never have the answers to, the minutes that changed everything.”

Gibbins wrote that Payne “would continue to be in awe” of his son Bear, 8, who he shares with ex Cheryl Cole.

“I saw a post on TikTok that said something about ‘if you had 5 more minutes with the person you miss the most, what would you do?’ ” Gibbins wrote I’ve thought about this a lot, 5 minutes to properly say goodbye to you. It’d be at your house. I’d want to be in the room first so that I can hear your feet and ankles clicking as you walk towards it and then get that feeling of joy the moment you walk in, with your shoulders in the unique way they hang.”

She continued, “I’d then ask for us to go and walk around your garden, this was always where we would really catch up on plans and things that were bothering us. We’d stop to listen to the bird noise, you’d say ‘it’s a woodpecker that is’ and l’d agree knowing nothing about birds. I’d tell a joke and you’d laugh in your kidish way, with that twinkle in your eye.”

Gibbins revealed that she looks for signs of her late brother’s presence in her life. “I am now the girl who looks robins in the eyes just in case it is you, the girl who hopes the butterfly ahead lands on her incase it is you, the girl who says ‘goodnight Liam’ to the stars each night just incase that’s where I will find you,” she wrote.

“Wherever you are, I hope you can hear me, I hope you are guiding me and I hope you know the love I have for you is infinite. I hope I get the chance to be your sister in every lifetime,” Gibbins wrote, before concluding with “Love always Liam, in every lifetime,” and sharing another family photo. Liam’s ex-girlfriend Danielle Peazer commented a heart emoji on the post.

Nicola Payne, 37, also shared a tribute. In an Instagram post, she began, “A year ago today marks a date I never wanted to see again.”

Nicola continued, “Our lives changed forever and our hearts were left broken, with pieces missing. That night, unaware of what you were going through, that you were alone. Me and Ffion watching Dinosaur on the TV and me saying to her, Next time we see Uncle Liam, he’ll be able to tell you all the dinosaurs, as he loves them. I didn’t know that as those words left my lips, and the pictures I took of the dinosaur to show you, that still sit on my phone today, that there wouldn’t be a next time. There wouldn’t be that chance to do something so normal to everyone else. It would never happen for us.”

She went on to say, “We didn’t get to say goodbye, we didn’t know all of the lasts had already happened. We sit and listen to the world’s view, a view of what we should be doing, what they think they know, and like a lot of your life, it just doesn’t seem fair. We have only received a minuscule amount of the ridicule you received in life and in death and, it’s been unbearable.”

Nicola added that her brother has “never left” her thoughts. “We retell stories to bring you closer. I apologise and I thank you all the time for everything you have done for us and all that you allowed us to see. Those memories will be cherished forever,” she wrote.

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“I continue to acknowledge you every day, as though you are still here with us. I talk about you with Ffion and include you in everything we do, searching the sky for the brightest star, because that’s Uncle Liam. Calming the rain before we walk to school, because that’s Uncle Liam. Seeing a rainbow, a butterfly, a cloud, because that’s Uncle Liam. Accidentally losing a balloon that floats gently towards the sky, knowing that means Uncle Liam has joined the celebration,” Nicola continued.

Nicola wrote, “But with these moments comes a pain, a pain that will never heal. There is always something, someone, missing, and I know that will remain for as long as I live.”

Nicola described her late brother as “precious, kind, outstanding, so utterly talented, one of a kind uncle” to her children.

She went on to write about her strong bond with Liam’s son: “We will ensure Bear knows everything about the amazing daddy he has, not just your achievements and success over the years, but all of the things that made you you.”

“My hopes and dreams for you are still the same. That you are happy, that you know how loved you are, that you are at peace, that you have friends up above, people you can chat to, people you can be you with, that funny, loving person you are. I hope you still light up the spaces you enter, that your laughter brightens people’s mood, that our nans and grandads are getting you to perform whenever they get a chance, and that crowds appear to listen to the boy that sings and smiles like he was born to do,” Nicola continued.

Nicola concluded her statement with a collage of family photos, writing, “I also hope that you are proud of us, and that if you are, you continue to feel proud. We really are trying here, but sometimes it’s just so damn hard. I don’t want you to be a picture on my shelf or a video on my phone. I want you here with us, where you should be. I love you, Liam. I will never not miss you, and will forever be so proud of you.”