United Kingdom, Feb. 6 -- Kate Cassidy has spoken out about receiving death threats and accusations of being a gold-digger following the death of her boyfriend Liam Payne.

The 25-year-old influencer, who had been in a relationship with the former One Direction star for two years, deactivated her social media accounts after facing abuse online, including criticism over her appearance at Payne's funeral in November. Payne, 31, died in October after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, but says the late singer's words of encouragement have helped her deal with the backlash.

Kate told The Sun in her first interview since Liam's tragic death: "One hate comment is equivalent to a hundred nice comments so it's hard but I understand th...