The tight friendships of Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik were the key to their success – until the gossip mill started churning

When One Direction was birthed by X Factor boss Simon Cowell in 2010, teenagers Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne and Niall Horan were all boyish banter and rambunctious enthusiasm.

Their interviews were packed full of ladish tactility – and the fans loved it, for despite having started out as strangers, it seemed the fivesome were the perfect fit.

And by the time they scored their first number one with What Makes You Beautiful in September 2011, best mates Harry and Louis were renting a £3million flat in North London together, in the same block where Ashley Cole and Cheryl once met.

But within a matter of months, they’d allegedly stopped talking and moved out amid talk of a mysterious feud.

Harry, Liam, Niall, Louis and Zayn were catapulted to fame after being thrown together by Simon Cowell

“Apart from Harry and Louis, no one knows exactly what caused the falling out – they didn’t even tell the other boys the full details,” a source told The Sun at the time. “But it was very serious and their friendship has never recovered.”

Feelings were apparently so frosty that the boys refused to travel together and bosses had to find a way to make the last three albums without the band being in the studio – claims Louis denied. Even Niall dismissed the reports, telling fans not to believe the rumours.

The lads were famous for their jokey rapport ( Image: WireImage)

“We stand strong as a band and we’re brothers,” he tweeted. But what could have ever come between the once tight-knit friends?

It would be their bandmate Zayn who hinted at the cause of a change, revealing that the wild ‘Larry Stylinson’ fan fiction – which depicted the pair as lovers – had caused the boys to pull back from the friendship.

In an attempt to make fans understand the impact of their comments, Zayn – who quit 1D in 2015 – told The Fader: “It’s not funny, and it still continues to be quite hard for them. They won’t naturally go put their arm around each other because they’re conscious of this thing that’s going on, which is not even true. They won’t do that natural behaviour.”

The gossip took a toll on Louis and Harry’s friendship ( Image: Getty Images Europe)

For Louis, he took issue with the impact the gossip was having on his own relationship and admitted the speculation had ‘created an atmosphere’ between him and Harry.

“When it first came around I was with Eleanor, and it actually felt a little bit disrespectful to Eleanor, who is my girlfriend now. I’m so protective over things like that, about the people I love,” he told The Sun.

“It created this atmosphere between the two of us where everyone was looking into everything we did. It took away the vibe you get off anyone. It made everything, I think on both fences, a little bit more unapproachable.”

While Harry has refused to put a label on his sexuality, Louis identifies as heterosexual and was furious when a cartoon featured in HBO show Euphoria depicted a sex scene between him and Harry last year.

“I can categorically say that I was not contacted nor did I approve it,” he raged on Twitter, with a source telling The Sun he was ‘angered’ that an ‘awkward’ situation had been made worse.

Niall, Harry, Liam and Louis remain friends to this day ( Image: PA)DON’T MISS

Despite the drama, Louis and Harry still remain friends, with the latter joining Niall and Liam to support Louis’ emotional X Factor performance following the death of his mum, Johannah Deakin, in December 2016.

As the band’s 10 year anniversary rolled round in 2020, fans had been praying for news of a reunion. However it wasn’t to be with the band – minus Zayn – merely announcing the launch of an immersive fan experience website called 10 Years of One Direction.

Their rep explained that a video will also be released featuring a timeline of the band’s best bits, “from forming on The X Factor to releasing their single History including clips from music videos, performances and candid behind-the-scenes video content. And of course the special relationship they have with their fans.”

Sadly though, Liam let slip that while he, Harry, Louis and Niall had got in touch to discuss the milestone, he ruled Zayn out of any possible reunion.

“I don’t think that’ll ever happen,” he told the Jonathan Ross show. “When he left, it wasn’t on great terms so I don’t feel like it’s a thing. If he didn’t want to be here, he shouldn’t be here, which is fine.”

Today Harry turns 30 with all eyes on his former band members to see who will speak out to pay tribute.

The milestone birthday comes months after Zayn gave an ultra-rare interview on his shock decision to leave the boyband at the height of their fame. Opening up to podcast Call Her Daddy in the summer of 2023, Zayn said the band had grown sick of each other after five years living in close proximity.

“I don’t want to go into too much detail, but there was a lot of politics going on. Certain people were doing certain things, certain people didn’t want to sign contracts, so I knew something was happening,” he said. “So I just got ahead of the curve, if I’m being honest with you.”

“I was like, ‘I’m just gonna get out of here, I think this is done,’” he said. “I completely selfishly wanted to be the first person to go and make my own record. I was like, ‘I’m gonna jump the gun here for the first time. I’m a passive dude but when it comes to my music and my business, I’m serious about it. I’m competitive, so I wanted to be the first to go and do my own thing.”

Going into further detail on feud rumours, Zayn continued: “There was obviously underlying issues within our friendships, too. We’d been together every day for five years and we got sick of each other, if I’m being completely honest. We were close. We’d done crazy things with each other that nobody else in the world will ever understand… I look back on it now in a much fonder light than I would’ve as I’d just left.”

“I had great times with them, but yeah, we’d just run our course,” he added. “I feel like we did a good job in terms of the keeping it together and making the music that we were meant to make. I think I got out at the right time. I think if I had done it any longer it might’ve affected me a bit more. But I think we did the right amount.”