Which Members Of One Direction Are Still In Regular Contact?
One Direction exploded onto the scene back in 2011 with their debut single “What Makes You Beautiful,” which not only entered the Top 10 in countries such as the UK, US, and Mexico, but it also shifted an incredible 10 million copies worldwide, making it an astounding feat for a new boy band.
Formed by Simon Cowell during the audition stages on The X Factor UK 2010, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, and Louis Tomlinson took the charts by storm following the release of their debut album, Up All Night, which hit stores in November 2011. The project went on to sell over five million copies worldwide, making it pretty apparent that these guys had a very bright future ahead.
And while the five-piece group was generating hundreds of millions of dollars for their former label, Syco, slowly but surely, there were a lot of cracks forming in the relationship the boys shared with one another. Malik, for example, had often complained about not having enough creative control over the songs the band was told to sing, giving them little to no input with the music they released to fans.
Then, in March 2015, Malik shocked fans by announcing his departure from the group in the midst of their world tour — and though the band went on to release another album without their original group member, after the release of Made in the A.M. in November 2015, the British band chose to go their separate ways to focus on their solo careers.
While their split was passed off as a “hiatus,” it seemed evidently clear that there was no chance they’d want to get back together after taking a break. But which One Direction members are still in contact with one another?
One Direction: Still Friends Or Foes?
This doesn’t really come as a surprise but Malik reportedly hasn’t spoken to his former bandmates since leaving the group six years ago.
Supposedly, he had been so unhappy with the direction of their career while in 1D — on top of the fact that he was dealing with severe depression and anxiety — that stepping away seemed like the best option for him at the time.
Of course, it was a slap in the face to then learn later in the year Malik had inked a solo record deal with RCA, which the boys of One Direction didn’t appreciate one bit. They felt betrayed and hurt that even though they knew Malik suffered from anxiety, there was no way he could excuse abruptly leaving their world tour just so that he could start work on his solo career.
By March 2016, the father of one had released his debut album, Mind of Mine, which included the hit No.1 hit single “Pillowtalk.”
As for Styles, who is undoubtedly the most successful out of all the 1D members, sources say he’s remained in close contact with Horan.
The latter had attended the 2020 Brit Awards to support Styles, who graced the stage to perform his track “Falling” before swooping up British Album and British Male Solo Artist at the annual awards ceremony.
Horan seems to be the one who keeps up with most of the 1D boys — apart from Malik, of course.
In a previous interview, Horan shared that his bond with his former band members hasn’t changed; they are still in contact. As for his relationship with Malik, he branded it as “tricky.”
"I’ve got no bad blood with him at all but some things have a lifespan. I don’t know. We will see what happens. Maybe one day we can reconvene at some point, but not right now,” he told The Sun.
Horan checks up on Payne and Tomlinson the most, he said, because they are fathers and feel they could use the additional support from a longtime pal.
Payne, on the other hand, is mainly still close to Tomlinson and Horan, admitting that since One Direction parted ways, he hasn’t heard much from Styles — and he’s totally okay with that.
During a chat with The Face, the “Strip That Down” hitmaker shared, "There’s so much mystery around who he’s become. I was looking at some pictures of him the other day, and I just thought, I don’t know what more I’d say to him other than, 'Hello' and 'How are you?’"
He continued, "I mean, look at the stuff I put out and the stuff Harry puts out. Polar opposite. I’m like the antichrist version of what Harry is.”
Tomlinson, similar to Horan, has mangled to keep a healthy relationship with most of the members of 1D — but he hasn’t spoken to Malik or Styles.
The fact that he no longer talks to Malik is particularly sad since these two were once the best of friends during their heyday in One Direction.
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