“She did what she needed to do at the time,” Cassidy’s pal said. “She had no idea what was going to happen. I can tell you that her decision will haunt her for the rest of her life.”
“She feels bad. Everyone in her life is saying that it’s not her fault,” her friend continued.
“You can’t babysit a 30-year-old grown man 24/7/365. But she’s not yet in a place to hear that.”
Two days before Payne’s fatal fall from a third-floor balcony at CasaSur Palermo Hotel, Cassidy shared a TikTok travel vlog revealing she had left the South American country.
In the video, she said they were initially only supposed to be in Argentina for five days, but the trip turned into a two-week getaway.
Cassidy’s friend told The Post that after leaving Argentina she attempted to convince Payne to also return home to Miami after she suspected he was on a bender .
“So she tells him she wants to leave, this is after a week. He begs her to stay,” the pal told The Post. “She keeps extending her trip, a day, two days. And he just wants her to stay, stay, stay.”
The “Teardrops” singer died instantly on Oct. 16 after falling from his hotel balcony, per the Associated Press . He was 31.
A partial autopsy revealed he had cocaine, crack, benzodiazepine and “pink cocaine” in his system at the time of his death, sources told ABC News on Monday.
In a tribute shared on Instagram Wednesday, Cassidy revealed she and the late One Direction alum had plans to get married before his death.
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