A heartbreaking photo of Liam Payne drinking mocktails in US bar Ritual Rooftop Restaurant has recently emerged in light of the devastating news of his death.
Local police said the former One Direction star, 31, fell into the courtyard of the Casa Sur Hotel in the Palermo neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, before medics confirmed his death on Wednesday.
In March 2023, Liam returned to the same Charleston bar he met his girlfriend Kate Cassidy, where he asked for her number, to try out a new range of mocktails, amid his struggles with alcohol.
Liam was outspoken about how the global fame of One Direction changed his life and affected his relationship with drugs and alcohol, once admitting: ‘I don’t know if I’ve hit rock bottom yet.’
When Liam returned to the bar to try the non-alcoholic drinks, they posted a sweet message on Instagram about his visit.
A heartbreaking photo of Liam Payne drinking mocktails in US bar Ritual Rooftop Restaurant has recently emerged in light of the devastating news of his death aged 31
In March 2023, Liam returned to the same Charleston bar he met his girlfriend Kate Cassidy , where he asked for her number, to try out a new range of mocktails, amid his struggles with alcohol
The post read: ‘So glad to have this guy back at Ritual this weekend.
‘We had an awesome night with @liampayne sampling our new mocktail menu, it’s so good to see that our nonalcoholic beverage list still keeps the party going no matter what you are drinking!’
Kate previously told her followers she and Liam’s meeting almost never happened as she had desperately tried to get off work that evening.
She said: ‘I worked at this bar/lounge place called Ritual. Me and all my friends worked there, it was only my second week at work and I didn’t want to work every weekend.
‘They put me on schedule for week two and I really wanted to get off. I tried everything in my power to get off and nothing worked out.
‘On the way to work my manager texted me and was like “Liam Payne from One Direction is here, you’re going to be taking care of him tonight.”
Kate admitted she was ‘freaking out’ when she had to approach Liam’s table and ended up chickening out at first.
She said: ‘When I first approached him, I got nervous and stopped and turned around. I guess we made awkward eye contact for a second.
Local police said the One Direction star fell into the courtyard of the Casa Sur Hotel in the Palermo neighbourhood of Buenos Aires on Wednesday before medics confirmed his death
Liam was outspoken about how the global fame of One Direction changed his life and affected his relationship with drugs and alcohol, once admitting: ‘I don’t know if I’ve hit rock bottom yet’ (pictured this week)
When Liam returned to the bar to try the non-alcoholic drinks, they posted a sweet message on Instagram about his visit
Kate previously told her followers she and Liam’s meeting almost never happened as she had desperately tried to get off work that evening
Kate admitted she was ‘freaking out’ when she had to approach Liam’s table and ended up chickening out at first
‘We talk about it because he said to [his friend] Conor, “Oh my God, did you see that girl walking over here? I’m not leaving this bar until I get her number.”
‘Then two minutes later I come back around. He was like, “is there anyway I can get a table inside?” He’s literally sitting inside drinking Red Bulls and I didn’t think anything of it, I just thought he was overly friendly, I didn’t think he was flirting with me.
Kate told how everytime she approached his table, Liam offered her to sit down with him and soon asked for her number.
She said: ‘Everytime I came to the table to check up on him, he’d be like sit down! I have family in London and I was like, “Oh I’m going to London to see my cousin” and he was like, “I’d love to be your tour guide when you come.” I was like, OK I’m picking up the sense that you’re flirting with me.
It comes as:
- Heartbroken fans descended on the hotel to lay candles and flowers for Payne;
- Celebrity tributes poured in from the likes of Dermot O’Leary and Paris Hilton;
- Payne shared a photo with his girlfriend on Snapchat minutes before his death;
- Fans looked back at Payne’s ‘extraordinary’ X Factor audition in 2008 aged 14;
- Pictures revealed rooms inside the hotel where Payne plunged to his death; and
- Harry Styles’s mother Anne Twist shared her grief with a tribute on Instagram.
‘He asked for my number and I didn’t realise you had to put the +1 because I’m from America. I just my area code, the 201 and he tried texting me and it kept going green, not delivered.
‘He thought I’d put the wrong number in as in like, not interested. I was freaking out all night and then he realised I forgot to put the +1 and it went through.’
They suffered another mishap later that evening as Kate’s phone died when she went to bed and Liam thought she had blocked his number.
She recalled: ‘That night, I actually didn’t plug my phone in before bed so when I woke up in the morning it was dead. Once he finally got the number to go through, he thought I blocked him because it didn’t say delivered.
‘The next morning I texted him and was like so sorry for getting back to you so late, what time is your flight back to England? He was like, before I leave for the airport I can come see you for lunch.
Local police said Liam fell into the courtyard of the Casa Sur Hotel in the Palermo neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, before medics confirmed his death
The family of singer Liam said today that they were ‘heartbroken’ by his death, adding that the former One Direction star will ‘forever live in our hearts’ (Liam, his father Geoff and mother Karen pictured in 2010)
As well as father Geoff and mother Karen, Payne had two sisters, Nicola (left) and Ruth (right)
‘We went for lunch which went really well and then went bowling and then went on a ghost tour, we basically had one of our first dates in a graveyard.
‘He extended his flight and then extended it again the next day so he ended up in Charleston for three days. That’s the story of how we met.
‘Literally, everything happens for a meeting. Don’t get off work because you want to go to a party because you never know, you could end up meeting your future husband.’
The family of singer Liam said today that they were ‘heartbroken’ by his death, adding that the former One Direction star will ‘forever live in our hearts’.
Liam’s relatives said in an emotional statement: ‘We are heartbroken. Liam will forever live in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul.
‘We are supporting each other the best we can as a family and ask for privacy and space at this awful time.’
Liam’s uncle Roger Harris also told MailOnline: ‘We are all just deeply saddened and trying to come to terms with it. I just hope everybody gives them some privacy really and allows them to come to terms with it. That’s all I can say.’
In addition, another relative speaking at Payne’s family home in Wolverhampton told MailOnline: ‘We are utterly devastated by the news.’
Tributes have been paid to the singer, with pictures showing shocked fans gathering outside the hotel after police cordoned off the area, with forensic investigators in white protective suits and blue gloves seen entering and leaving.
Fans were photographed lighting candles and leaving flowers at the side of the road in an impromptu vigil as they paid tribute to the music star.
Liam formed boy band One Direction in 2010, alongside Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Harry Styles, after they individually auditioned for The X Factor.
After becoming one of the biggest pop groups in the world, with five albums and four world tours, they went on indefinite hiatus in 2016.
Liam died instantly from multiple injuries after plunging to his death from a third-floor hotel balcony in Argentina.
The star fractured his skull, with emergency services unable to save him at the scene.
Liam’s identity was confirmed by emergency services by checking his passport, but police do not yet have conclusive evidence regarding the circumstances of his fall.
Buenos Aires emergency services chief Alberto Crescenti told The Sun: ‘Our role was to head there quickly, give medical attention, and try to resuscitate him, but his injuries were incompatible with life.
‘Based on what the team saw, there was apparently a cranial fracture and extremely serious injuries that led to his immediate death.’
Simon – who famously formed Liam’s band One Direction – decided last minute to call off the auditions in Blackpool as he discovered the shocking news (the band pictured in 2013)
Liam died instantly from multiple injuries after plunging to his death from a third-floor hotel balcony in Argentina
Liam had arrived in Argentina earlier this month for his ex-bandmate Niall Horan’s concert with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy. She left two days ago, but he stayed on.
Around the same time, his ex-fiancée Maya Henry instructed lawyers to issue Payne with a cease and desist letter after accusing him of repeatedly contacting her.
City ambulance service provider spokesman Alberto Crescenti said he had fallen around 40 metres and suffered ‘severe injuries which were incompatible with life.’
He said: ‘The alarm was raised at 5.04pm local time saying a person was lying in an internal patio at Casa Sur.
‘At 5.11pm an ambulance arrived and the man was certified dead.
‘Afterwards we found out he had been a famous singer. Unfortunately the injuries he had suffered as a result of the fall proved to be fatal. There was no possibility of resuscitating him.’
A statement from local police said they arrived to the hotel after they were ‘informed of an aggressive man who may have been under the effects of drugs and alcohol’.
Officials heard a loud sound in the courtyard before discovering his body just after 5pm, reported the BBC.
Liam, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson pictured with Simon in 2015
Liam had his first audition for the fifth series of The X Factor in 2008, when he was just 14 years old (pictured in 2010)
He was cut again during judges’ houses but was encouraged by Simon to return in two years (pictured in 2010)
According to TMZ, Liam ‘had been acting erratic in the hotel lobby and smashed his laptop’ before he ‘had to be carried back to his room’.
Police had received a call from a worker at the hotel requesting urgent help with an intoxicated guest, according to audio related to the case obtained from the Buenos Aires security ministry.
‘When he is conscious he is destroying the entire room and we need you to send someone,’ the worker said.
Liam had his first audition for the fifth series of The X Factor in 2008, when he was just 14 years old.
The audition was held in front of judges Simon, Cheryl Cole, Dannii Minogue and Louis Walsh.
He advanced past the first round of X Factor after impressing the judges with his rendition of Frank Sinatra’s ‘Fly Me to the Moon.’
Though he was initially eliminated at the Boot Camp stage, Simon brought Liam back for the judges’ houses stage.
He was cut again during judges’ houses but was encouraged by Simon to return in two years.
The singer returned to the show in 2010, auditioning in front of Simon, Cheryl, Louie and guest judge Natalie Imbruglia.
