Are The Members Of One Direction Still Friends? Here’s Where Their Relationships Stand Now
It’s been almost five years since One Direction announced their hiatus, but are the members of the band still friends?!
Lillie Gissen
It’s been almost five years since One Direction announced their hiatus, but are the members of the band still friends?!
As fans know, the group — which was made up of Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik — was put together by Simon Cowell after all the guys auditioned on The X Factor as solo artists back in 2010. They went on to release five epic albums together, embark on numerous world tours, sell out massive stadiums, release their own perfume, drop a few concert movies, break a lot of records and so much more! But in 2015, they announced that they were taking an indefinite break, and fans were left heartbroken.
So where do their relationships stand now? Well, we decided to investigate, and it turns out, the guys are as close as ever! They have actually hung out so many times since the group went their separate ways, and every time they do, it seriously makes us emotional.
Is Zayn Malik Still Friends With His Former Bandmates?
For those who forgot, Malik shocked the world when he announced that he was leaving the band in March 2015. And afterwards, he threw some major shade towards the rest of the guys in interviews, and get this — he even claimed that he never wanted to be a part of the group in the first place. Ouch! And when he was asked about his relationship with the rest of the guys in November 2017, Malik admitted that he was no longer on speaking terms with them.
“Our relationships have definitely changed since we were in a band together, but I think that’s just life. Everybody grows up. Two of the guys have got kids now. But no, I don’t talk to any of them, really,” he revealed to Billboard.
He also explained in a November 2018 interview, “We went from theaters, to arenas, to stadiums — there was never any sort of bridge between. Just boom, boom, boom. I guess that kind of progression to any mind — but especially when you’re 17, 18 — it kind of affects you a little bit. People take it different ways — especially when there are five different personalities. The relationships had broken apart. I ain’t spoke to any of them for a long time, to be honest with you. That’s just the way it is. There’s things that happen and things that were said after I left… Snide things. Small things that I would never have expected.”
In February 2020, The Sun asked Tomlinson if he thought Malik’s comments about his time in the band were “disrespectful,” and he told them, “Yeah, I do. But I can understand it. We have a lot of situations where we’re sat in interviews and if you’re in a certain mood you might run your mouth. The older you get the more you can tell if these things actually carry any malice or if they’re just a prod in the back. That’s life, innit? Sometimes people chat s**t and that’s the reality.”
As for whether or not he had spoken to the artist, he added, “No, but I’ve not actively tried. We’ve all got a lot on our plates and there might be a day where I wake up and think, ‘OK, I want to right that wrong,’ but not yet.”
When Malik announced that he had welcomed a baby with his girlfriend, Gigi Hadid, in October 2020, Horan got in contact with the “Pillowtalk” crooner to congratulate him!
“It is mad to think. I remember when we were all babies, and now there’s three dads,” he joked during an interview with Capital FM. “I sent a message recently to congratulate him. It’s an amazing thing.”
Payne also reacted to the news during an Instagram Live!
“Oh yeah congratulations Zayn and Gigi as well. Actually yes, very lovely news this morning. Bless them, starting a family,” the 27-year-old said.
Tomlinson didn’t say anything about it online, but he did like a photo Malik had posted of his daughter, seemingly showing his support.
Is Liam Payne Still Friends With His Former Bandmates?
Yep! Payne has hung out all of the guys a few times over the years, and most recently, he and Horan caught up via FaceTime. And when they posted screenshots of it to their Instagram Stories, everyone was pretty excited.
GOOD MORNING TO LIAM PAYNE AND NIALL HORAN ON FACETIME ONLY pic.twitter.com/KTDPR4NNLK
— meg ◟̽◞̽ (@liamhearted) April 11, 2020
In honor of the band’s 10-year anniversary in July, Payne revealed that he was trying to arrange a group FaceTime with everyone. He explained during an Instagram Live, “Most of us are in London. We’ve been trying to arrange the first group FaceTime at the moment.”
Plus, back in December 2019, after he and Styles both performed at Jingle Bell Ball in London, he opened up about reuniting with the “Sign of the Times” crooner.
“It was really interesting, we hadn’t seen each other for a really long time,” he said. “It was really nice, he’s still the same boy as when I left him which is really sweet, just different with age and whatever else. He’s such a lovely lad.”
Payne also revealed to This Morning in the same month, “I speak to Louis a lot and he’s had obviously had a crazy few years, more so than anyone, a very sad few years for him actually, but he’s doing amazing. It’s transformed him into the most beautiful human being ever. I love spending time with him.”
He and Tomlinson also shared a few pics together after performing at the Coca Cola Music Festival in Madrid, Spain in September 2019.
Is Harry Styles Still Friends With His Former Bandmates?
Styles and Horan reunited at the 2020 Brit Awards in February. And the “Slow Hands” crooner later opened up about what it was like to see his former bandmate to GQ Magazine.
“I caught up with Harry. It was good to see him, I hadn’t seen him in a long time. He lives not too far away from me in L.A. but every time we go to L.A., he seems to go one way and I go the other and we keep missing each other. It was great to see him, he smashed his performance,” Horan gushed. “He was obviously nominated for a couple awards so, successful night for him. It was good to see him.”
They were also spotted hanging out at an Eagles concert together in June 2019.
As for him and Tomlinson, the last time they hung out (that we know of) was in December 2016, after the “Walls” artist’s mom, Johannah Deakin, tragically passed away from leukemia. All of the 1D boys flew to London to be with Tomlinson during his first performance after her death, and it was definitely an emotional moment.
Is Louis Tomlinson Still Friends With His Former Bandmates?
In November 2019, Tomlinson and Horan both attended the Telehit Awards in Mexico and posted a few pictures together. Plus, when Tomlinson became a judge on The X Factor in 2018, Horan came to support him! He was spotted in the audience of the finale — how sweet is that?! They also shared a pic together in December 2017 after attending their former manager’s wedding. Oh, and in September 2017, Tomlinson showed up at one of Horan’s concerts to watch him perform!
NIALL’ REACTION WHEN HE SAW LOUIS IS THE CUTEST THING EVER pic.twitter.com/m4U8QRFlTa
— Nat (@heslwtwoghosts) September 22, 2017
So sweet! And that’s not all. Tomlinson chose Payne as his special guest judge for one episode of The X Factor a few weeks earlier, and seeing them on our screens together again was everything. Plus, when Payne dropped his new album, LP1, in December 2019, the 28-year-old took to Twitter to congratulate him.
“MASSIVE shout out to Liam for his debut album out tomorrow. Congrats mate. Cant wait to hear!
@LiamPayne,” he wrote.
MASSIVE shout out to Liam for his debut album out tomorrow. Congrats mate. Cant wait to hear! @LiamPayne
— Louis Tomlinson (@Louis_Tomlinson) December 5, 2019
Is Niall Horan Still Friends With His Former Bandmates?
In February 2018, fans were living when Horan and Payne reunited at a BRIT Awards after party. The “Strip That Down” singer shared a snap of them together to his Stories, which he captioned, “What a surprise end to my night.” They also spent a lot of time together in December 2017 when they both performed on the Jingle Ball Tour. They posted a few videos together, hanging out in Payne’s hotel room, watching golf and goofing off back stage, and it quickly brought on the feels.
In June 2016, he and Tomlinson teamed up and participated in Soccer Aid (a charitable soccer match) together. Well, not exactly. They actually competed on different teams, and naturally, things got a little competitive.
It’s clear they have a bond that can never be broken!