Overview

• Cassidy posted an Instagram video montage and a photo carousel on Aug. 29, calling Payne “the most special soul” and writing, “My dearest Liam… today, you would have been 32.”
• The tributes included previously unseen clips and photos from their two-year relationship, with Cassidy promising to honor his life and “celebrate you extra today.”
• Payne’s sister Nicola shared her own birthday message recalling last year’s celebration and wishing him a “happiest heavenly birthday.”
• Payne died on Oct. 16, 2024 after falling from a third-floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, and toxicology later found cocaine, alcohol, and a prescription antidepressant in his system.
• Authorities arrested five people during the investigation; negligence charges against a friend and two hotel employees were dropped in February 2025, while two men alleged to have supplied drugs remain prosecuted, and his final TV work aired posthumously in July on Netflix’s Building the Band.