Exclusive | Liam Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy gave him ‘tough love’ ultimatum before leaving — her or the drugs, friend says

Liam Payne’s grieving girlfriend Kate Cassidy is giving more details about her decision to leave Argentina in the days before the singer plunged to his death — and she’s telling friends that she gave him an ultimatum to stop using drugs.

“His drug use was causing a lot of drama,” said the friend, who speaks to the 25-year-old influencer regularly.

“So she gave him an ultimatum: her or the drugs. He chose the drugs, so she had no choice but to remove herself from the situation.”

“She thought she was doing tough love,” the friend continues.

“She didn’t know that it would end the way it did.”

Cassidy previously told friends that staying with the singer was a “hostage situation” as he continued to extend their vacation in Argentina.

While they were initially slated to spend four days in the country, the trip lasted more than two weeks before Cassidy finally left.

“She had to go,” says her pal.

“It was becoming very unhealthy for everyone. She hoped he would follow her back to Miami.”

Cassidy gave the additional context to her friends after seeing a media interview of the alleged drug dealer who is under investigation in Payne’s Oct. 16 death.

In the interview, Braian Nahuel Paiz insisted there has been no wrongdoing on his part.

The 24-year-old Paiz admitted to having two hotel meetings with the “Story of My Life” singer, 31, but insisted that he did not sell any drugs to the former One Direction singer.

“We took drugs together but I never took drugs to him or accepted any money,” Paiz told local news outlet Telefe Noticias on Saturday.

“Our second hotel meeting was on the night of Sunday, October 13,” Pais continued.

“We spent the night together, we consumed drugs because the truth is that something intimate happened.”

The bombshell allegations have incensed Cassidy, who is telling pals that Paiz is a liar and that he can’t be trusted, according to the source.

“She says that he’d say anything to get out of this,” the 25-year old Instagram influencer’s confidante said.

“It’s lie after lie after lie. She doesn’t think they had an intimate night together and she says that the entire interview was completely self-serving. She is looking forward to seeing what happens when he is prosecuted.”

According to a police report, Payne had a toxic mixture of drugs in his system at the time of his death — including crack and so-called “pink cocaine,” which is a mixture of ketamine and other drugs.

Authorities say he spent his last hours with two prostitutes, who drank with him and then left after a dispute about payment.

Paiz has reportedly been fired from his job as a result of the ongoing criminal probe. He is the second person to be formally linked to the singer’s death.

Local police have also named Rogelio “Roger” Nores, Payne’s close friend, as one of the three people under investigation.