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It was just by chance that tragic Liam Payne met Rogelio ‘Roger’ Nores — the Argentinian multi-millionaire who was with the former teen heartthrob in the fateful hours before he died.
In 2020, the One Direction star was at a dinner party at the London home of Edward Enninful, the former editor of British Vogue, when he was introduced to the energy entrepreneur, and they quickly struck up a bond.
Nores would go on to work hard behind the scenes to keep Payne clean – but friends worried he was isolating the musician.
That pivotal night, Payne was joined by his ex-girlfriend, Maya Henry, the daughter of high-rolling Texas attorney Thomas J.Henry
Payne and Maya split in 2022 following a tumultuous romance. Earlier this year, Payne ended up moving close by Nores and a few other pals in Florida as he tried to make a fresh start following years of struggles with addiction.
He had, friends said, suffered a few “traumatic episodes” over the past two years,
But things looked brighter and he had only recently moved into a $9,500-a-month Spanish-style mansion in Palm Beach with his girlfriend, social media influencer Kate Cassidy, while Nores owns an apartment in Miami Beach. He loved bowling and was learning to play polo.
During the summer, however, Nores went off to Europe with his girlfriend, while Payne went to Manchester, England, with a nine-person team, including Cassidy, family members and stylists, to film his new Netflix show, “Building the Band” with Nicole Scherzinger and Kelly Rowland.
It was not a decision that Nores was happy with, as he feared that Payne might relapse, we’re told, as he knew too many dealers in the UK.
In a note seen by Page Six, Nores emailed Payne’s father, Geoff, and his management team, including his business manager Alan McEvoy, in August and made his worries crystal clear as the singer had only been clean for four months.
He wrote, “Liam stayed at my friend’s ranch down in Palm Beach and since the first day he arrived he was monitored and treated by professional doctors who specialize in addictions. He stayed fully clean without access to any hard drug (sic) during his whole stay.
“The plan was for him to work on the preparation for a music tour and stay healthy and busy with work. A plan he successfully followed during his whole stay in the US.”
However, Nores continued, “I’m really concerned for his well-being while he is out there and I hope you can bring professional doctors to check on his health regularly as soon as possible as I did while he was out in the US.
“I am going to stay fully out of the picture and disconnected from now on and I wish you all the best with Liam’s health and career.”
As one former colleague said of Payne’s Netflix deal this week, “We were shocked, there was no way he was in any shape to do this.”
However, a source close to the UK production told Page Six that Payne was a guest judge on the show and didn’t appear in all episodes, claiming that he found the experience so fulfilling he wanted to continue working with the bands after the production.
Payne’s girlfriend Cassidy — who said in an emotional post that the couple had planned to wed — did not love that they were so close as a friend told Page Six the model felt that Nores was “too involved” in their lives, adding, “He was a ubiquitous presence and always had advice.”
Nores and Payne would brainstorm ideas, as the friend continued, “From what I understand, Liam liked him because he is an entrepreneur and he was always talking about ideas with him.
“They became best friends, really quickly,” said the friend, “I don’t think Kate was thrilled about it, but she lived with the situation, because what else can you do? She’s not going to be the girlfriend who says that her boyfriend can’t have friends.”
One source who knows Nores said, “They were opposites, Roger had never tried a drug in his life, he never drinks, he’s not a party guy, he’s intellectual and Liam was the opposite, but they loved talking to each other. Liam was the kind of guy who would ask 20 people for advice — and Roger was one of them.”
The pair were indeed close and Nores would often join Payne in the recording studio. Payne was even forced to deny they were lovers as he said on a Snapchat video, “There was a lot of things in magazines saying me and Roger are gay together – not true, unfortunately,” as he praised Nores for helping him through a “tough time”.
Nores had also acted as a go-between between Payne and Maya, who requested a cease and desist order weeks before his death, claiming Payne was “blowing up” her phone and trying to contact her family.
Nores, 35, certainly does not come from a showbiz background.
A graduate of Universidad Torcuato Di Tella in Buenos Aires, Nores created his energy fund Stoneway Capital, while forging ties with the Argentinian government.
“Being a part of something big and being a part of a world that’s changing…that’s always a part of what drives me every morning, he told Forbes, which in 2018 declared him one of the most important 30 under 30 in the energy sector.
Backed by German tech conglomerate Siemens, Nores had raised a billion dollars in capital at the age of 27, built seven gas-fired power plants in Argentina that provided electricity to over a million home.r..
He’s now working in energy and fertilizer initiatives, we’re told.
When Payne and Cassidy returned to the US via a wedding in Paris and a vacation in Greece, they flew to Buenos Aires so Payne could renew his US visa and see his 1D bandmate Niall Horan in concert.
It was supposed to be a four day trip; but the US Embassy made Payne stay on to be drug tested after his previous rehab stays were made public.
Payne and Cassidy checked into the CasaSur hotel close to Nores’ home and they went to see Horan in concert with Nores’ girlfriend.
We’re told that Liam became friends with a staffer in the cleaning department of the hotel, and he got him to get him drugs. Local outlets in Argentina featured a recording of the hotel manager allegedly talking to police in which he confirmed had fired staffers after Nores told him they were selling drugs to Liam.
The last time Nores saw his friend was just a few hours before he plunged to his death from his hotel balcony — but he had no idea of the horror that was to come.
An initial autopsy found a slew of drugs including pink cocaine in his system. Nores only found out about his friend’s death as soon as the news broke, we’re told.
In the hours before Payne died, Nores was with him at his hotel. An onlooker told the Daily Mail that the star was a on a “bender”, adding that Nores apologized to guests for his behavior.
Soon after, hotel staff made a call to emergency services around 5 p.m. local time, with requests to respond to a hotel guest “who is overwhelmed by drugs and alcohol” and “destroying his room”.
“I don’t know if the guest’s life is in danger. But he has a room with a balcony and we’re a little afraid that he might do something life-threatening,” the hotel’s front desk manager said in a second call.
However, the star fell over his balcony at 5:07 p.m. and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The star’s body is still in Argentina, where his father is waiting to bring him back to the UK for burial.
Police are continuing to track down who procured and bought the drugs to Payne. A hotel employee suspected of providing the singer with drugs on the day he died has already been interviewed by officials, according to reports. No arrests have been made.
Reached this week, Nores did not want to comment, but told Page Six, “I am heartbroken by the loss of my friend.”
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