Real reason Liam Payne extended his ill-fated trip to Argentina amid struggles

was desperate to continue his lifestyle in sunny Florida with girlfriend Kate Cassidy, reports have suggested.

The couple seemed so committed to each other that they'd moved in together and had their own rescue pup - but time was running out for the former singer, who faced a move back to the UK unless he renewed his US visa. According to border control rules, he had to leave the country to be able to apply for an extension of his "Extraordinary Achievement" visa.

He decided to head to Buenos Aires to catch ex-bandmate Niall Horan's arena show there, and renew his documents at the same time. However, there were immediate issues due to the USA's stringent policy on drug use.

A source explained to : "One of the questions on the form asks, 'Have you ever abused alcohol or drugs?' Liam's problems with drugs and alcohol are well documented.

"It is widely known that he had been to rehab in the US, so he had to tick the box, and because of this he had to have medical tests. He had to be checked out by a doctor and a psychiatrist."

The source added: "All this took time, so Liam was forced to stay in Buenos Aires longer than he had planned."

After the psychiatric and medical tests, the singer was reportedly given a clean bill of health - and at that time, according to the source, he was "100 per cent sober".

He was due to have a meeting at the embassy on Thursday and to collect his visa just hours after that - but it wasn't to be.

Meanwhile, girlfriend Kate had headed home after 12 days in the Argentinian capital, saying she hated being in one place for too long - and that left Liam by himself.

However, no-one had imagined that Liam was about to do "anything stupid".

Less than 48 hours before he was due to collect the visa and return home, Liam plummetted from a third floor balcony to his death.

Heartbreakingly, he had been working on song material that day, and had spent parts of the week donating large sums to charities for children in need.

However, he died immediately due to injuries "incompatible with life", including internal haemorrhaging and a fractured skull - and his family, friends and fans are bereft.