I was at lowest ebb after losing Liam… One Direction fans sent me death threats – I don’t blame them, says Kate Cassidy

LIAM Payne’s heartbroken girlfriend has revealed she got death threats and gold-digger jibes — but the tragic star’s positivity got her through the ordeal. Kate Cassidy, 25, deleted her social media as trolls turned on her — including making cruel comments about what she wore at his funeral. But she said Liam’s experience in the showbiz world helped her to shrug off the abuse. She told The Sun: “One hate comment is equivalent to a hundred nice comments so it’s hard but I understand that.

“Liam would want me to be as strong as I can be, and just have a thick skin. That’s one thing he always taught me. He grew up in this life, and he always was just so positive about it and said, ‘Don’t let any hate get to you’.”. US influencer Kate is keen to praise the majority of kind One Direction fans who “have given me so much support and love”. But she has also seen first-hand the harmful side of super-fandom.

She said: “I understand that some of the more negative comments come from a place of loving Liam, and concern, and caring for Liam. “So I understand that because I love Liam too. But for sure it’s hard because obviously any criticism will get to you. “Yeah I have some (death threats). And some of my DMs are, well, I can’t even put it into words exactly. “That’s why I had to delete social media for a bit, and still sometimes I’ll take a break from it.

College graduate Kate was 23 and temping in a bar when she met Liam, the love of her life and worth a reported £46million. Following his death, a report came out in the States claiming she was given a “living allowance” and expenses totalling around £20,000-a-month. The couple shared his multi-million rented mansion in Florida, which Kate has since moved from. Today she is temporarily living back at home with family in New Jersey with family while she navigates this horrific experience.

It has not been confirmed whether Liam had made a will and during our interview I am not allowed to ask about one. But understandably Kate is stung by the idea she was only after Liam for his money and fame. Over a cup of coffee, left untouched, at studios in East London she says: “Obviously after his death there was a lot of speculation, and things that were said about me, and I was getting called certain labels.

“Liam and I had a relationship where I couldn’t possibly work a nine to five job with his work and his lifestyle and I moved across the world to be with him. “He showed me our relationship was so special because we balanced each other out so much. And I know that our relationship was so authentic and real. It’s something literally you would see out of a movie. I’ll never let anybody tell me otherwise.

“So you know when people come and point a finger at me saying ‘you took an allowance and you had living expenses’ or whatever, at the end of the day it’s nobody’s business except for me and Liam. “I never (asked him for money). Yeah, it’s upsetting but it’s just about having thick skin and I’m never going to let anybody tell me how my relationship was with Liam. The only two people that really know how strong a relationship was are me and Liam.

“And I know that our relationship was so authentic and real. “It’s something literally you would see out of a movie. I’ll never let anybody tell me otherwise.”. As one-fifth of the world’s biggest boyband in modern history, with it came the level of fandom not seen since The Beatles. Wolverhampton-born Liam inspired a cult-like devotion from Directioners and still trends on social media. His accounts on TikTok, Snapchat, X and Instagram have more than 70 million followers.

Fans held vigils for the star, and set up support groups to cope with his death. The funeral at St Mary’s Church in Amersham, Bucks, on November 20 made global news and was attended by friends, family, industry colleagues — and, poignantly, all four of his 1D bandmates: Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik. Kate was supported at the church by her pal, Damian Hurley, son of model Elizabeth, and wore a long black dress.

Yet some fans criticised her, suggesting she was wearing too much make up. Comments included: “Eww to Kate Cassidy’s and Damian Hurley’s looks. It’s a funeral and not a fashion show! Call me old-fashioned if you want. But thank God Liam’s actual friends and family who attended had the decency to dress classy and appropriate and not make it about them.”. Nobody needs to look all streaky and like Gene Simmons at a funeral.

Others chimed in: “She’s had her lips done for the funeral!”, “All she wants is attention.”. Some wrote: “There’s an awful lot of makeup going on.”. And “Nobody needs to look all streaky and like Gene Simmons at a funeral.”. Let’s not forget, this trolling came on what must have been one of the hardest days of Kate’s young life. Defending herself to me, she said: “People are going to say things no matter what.