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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Frances Kindon

One Direction now - comeback plans, car crash interview and lots of daytime TV

It's been almost eight years since One Direction went on an indefinite hiatus following the shock departure of bandmate Zayn Malik.

Since then, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn have all walked their own paths, scattering around the globe and enjoying varying degrees of success.

From becoming dads and dating A-list actresses to changing direction completely, a lot has happened for the fivesome who were thrown together on the X Factor in 2010.

Here, The Mirror takes a look at the very different lives of the once-inseparable bandmates...

Harry Styles

(L-R) Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne and Harry Styles formed One Direction (Getty Images North America)

Harry - who turns 29 today - went briefly quiet after the hiatus before returning with three hit albums, Harry Styles, Fine Line and Harry's House.

The platinum-selling solo star has been on the road with his Love On Tour show since 2021; he headlined Coachella last year and advanced his acting career in Don't Worry Darling and My Policeman.

He topped the Sunday Times Rich List in 2022 for the richest musician under 30 in the UK, with an estimated net worth of £100million.

The Cheshire-raised star still calls London home, having sold his £4.8million home above Sunset Strip after becoming disillusioned with the city. He does, however, still have a loft apartment in New York.

Harry Styles appeared alongside David Dawson in the drama My Policeman (Amazon Prime)

"I feel like my relationship with LA has changed a lot," he told Variety magazine in 2021. "I've kind of accepted that I don't have to live here anymore; for a while I felt like I was supposed to. Like it meant things were going well. This happened, then you move to LA! But I don't really want to.

"In general, as people, there's a lack of empathy. We found this place that's so divisive. We just don't listen to each other anymore. And that's quite scary."

Relationship-wise, the Watermelon Sugar singer most recently dated his Don't Worry Darling director, Olivia Wilde, 38, fresh from her split with husband Jason Sudeikis, 47.

However, their romance was plagued by gossip and rumours surrounding everything from the timeline of their relationship to an on-set feud with his leading co-star, Florence Pugh.

Harry and Olivia, left, dated for more than a year (Corbis via Getty Images)
Harry and Olivia fell for each other while she was directing him in Don't Worry Darling (INSTAGRAM)

Olivia denied there was any crossover between her two partners, but nevertheless, her romance with Harry came to a sudden end in November when it was announced that they would be 'taking a break'.

As for his other bandmates, Harry is believed to have stayed in touch with everyone apart from Zayn, who has said they were never friends to begin with.

And when it comes to their solo careers, Harry insists there is no competitiveness.

"I think there's a wont to pit people against each other. And I think it's never been about that for us," he said.

"It's about a next step in evolution. The fact that we've all achieved different things outside of the band says a lot about how hard we worked in it."

Louis Tomlinson

Louis Tomlinson's mum Johannah sadly passed away in 2016 (David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock)
His sister Félicité died following an accidental drugs overdose in March 2019 (Internet Unknown)

Louis suffered a series of heartbreaking tragedies including the death of his beloved mother from leukaemia in 2016 and his sister Felicite's death from an accidental overdose in 2019.

He sold his £5.14million house in Los Angeles in 2020 and now lives a six-bedroom mansion in Hertfordshire complete with swimming pool and spa.

There, he likes to spend his days watching daytime TV, admitting he's a big fan of Bargain Hunt.

"I'm very good at just watching s*** TV all day," he recently told The Sunday Times.

Louis has son Freddie, six, from a previous relationship (Instagram)
Louis was the first band member to become a dad (Daily Mirror)

"But if I'm trying to be productive I like to inspire myself by watching interviews with other artists I admire, like Arctic Monkeys or Liam Gallagher. It's dead interesting hearing the way they think."

He continued: "For lunch, I love a tuna sandwich with salad cream — not mayo — and some prawn cocktail crisps on the side. I'm a s*** cook.

"I've survived on microwave meals for years, but I do feel sorry for my son — he must be sick to death of cheesy pasta."

His son is, of course, six-year-old Freddie, who he had with American stylist Briana Jungwrith. Until last month, Louis was still in a relationship with on-off girlfriend Eleanor Calder.

The pair first met in 2011 when Eleanor was a student, but called it quits in 2015. However, in 2017 Louis and Eleanor reunited and were said to have been considering marriage.

Meanwhile, Louis is in the midst of a career renaissance.

After parting ways with Simon Cowell's Syco in 2020 he signed a new global deal with BMG and embarked on writing a second studio album.

Faith In The Future charted at Number One at the end of last year.

But despite his success, Louis admits he sometimes misses the comfort of being in a group.

He said: "There's a different sort of pressure being a solo artist, and the lows are lower on your own."

Zayn Malik

Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid are parents to two-year-old daughter Khai (Instagram)

Zayn was the first one to walk away from the band, explaining that he wanted to live the life of a 'normal 23 year old'.

He moved to Los Angeles, fell in love with supermodel Gigi Hadid and had daughter Khai, two.

But they split in October 2021 following claims of an altercation between Zayn and Gigi's mother Yolanda – something he denied.

He told TMZ at the time, "I adamantly deny striking Yolanda Hadid and for the sake of my daughter I decline to give any further details."

Despite their messy separation, in 2021, a source told Us Weekly that the exes had brokered peace for the sake of their daughter.

Zayn denied striking Gigi's mother Yolanda (Gigi and Yoland Hadid, Zayn Malik)

"She's on better terms with Zayn and they’re doing well co-parenting," a source said.

And Gigi - who was linked to Leonardo DiCaprio last year - even gave Zayn a shout out on Instagram after he threw a second birthday party for Khai, writing: "Her baba threw her the best party!"

Now, Zayn has turned his attentions to lobbying the UK government and urging Rishi Sunak to offer free school meals to hundreds of thousands more needy children.

The 29-year-old, who relied on free dinners growing up in Bradford, West Yorkshire, issued a plea to the Prime Minister to widen the scheme.

Zayn lobbied the government for free school meals (PA)
Zayn received free school meals as a child (SPLASH)

The Mirror and the National Education Union are campaigning for free school meals for all primary school pupils in England.

In a heartfelt letter, Zayn said he hoped no child ever again had to experience the "hunger and stigma" he felt as a kid.

He told the PM: "These children are suffering from lack of concentration, some even resorting to stealing food from school canteens because they are so hungry but can’t afford to buy lunch.

"They are also feeling shame which is directly impacting their physical and mental health. I know what that shame feels like, I have seen it first-hand, as growing up in Bradford, I relied on Free School Meals.

"I personally experienced the stigma surrounding food insecurity.

"My hope is that in writing this letter we can all ensure that no child ever has to experience this hunger and stigma again as my experience is not unique; it is a struggle that many children in England are sadly going through right now."

Liam Payne

Liam Payne became a dad at just 23 years old (Instagram)

After One Direction split, Liam fell for Girls Aloud star Cheryl Cole and their son Bear, five, was born.

Soon after, the couple parted ways and Liam took off around the globe in a bid to launch his solo career. The pair remain great friends and even live just a few doors down from each other.

He was linked to supermodel Naomi Campbell; got engaged to Maya Henry, 22, and dated US model Aliana Mawla, 24.

But most recently, he is said to be dating American actress Kate Cassidy, who has been described as 'a wild girl'.

"They are mad about each other," a source said of their budding romance. "Kate is a wild girl so Liam is definitely in for a fun ride."

Liam is now seeing actress Kate Cassidy (Getty Images for Atlantis The Ro)
Kate is said to be 'wild' (Kate Cassidy/Instagram)

Meanwhile, Liam landed himself in hot water last June with comments about Cheryl and Zayn in an eyebrow-raising interview.

The candid chat on the Impaulsive with Logan Paul podcast saw him address the Zayn and Yolanda Hadid drama, but his comments did not go down well when he admitted he will always 'dislike' Zayn.

"There's many reasons why I dislike Zayn and there's many reasons why I'll always, always be on his side," Liam said, citing Zayn's tough upbringing.

He continued: "If I had had to go through what he went through - with his growth and whatever else. My parents are overly supportive to the point where it's annoying at times. Zayn had a different upbringing in that sense.

Liam tried to stick up for Zayn but it all backfired on him (Zayn Malik and Liam Payne)

"You can always look at the man for where he is and say, 'Oh yeah, whatever, that guy's a d***,' but at the end of the day, once you're understanding what he's been through to get to that point and also whether or not he wanted to be there."

"Listen, I don't agree with any of his actions. I can't commend some of the things that he's done. I can't be on his side for that," he said.

Liam explained that he'd reached out to Zayn but hadn't heard back, adding: "Your only hope is that at some point in their life, the person at the other end of the phone wants to receive the help that you're willing to give them."

The backlash was instant and Liam was forced to take to Twitter to clarify his comments.

"They mentioned a specific incident involving Zayn which I responded to - but listening back maybe I didn't articulate myself as well as I could have," he wrote.

"I was saying that there will always be things we disagree on but that I will always, always be on his side. That's family. Zayn is my brother and I will stand by him forever."

Niall Horan

Niall Horan with girlfriend Amelia Woolley (Getty Images)

It's all go for Niall, with Heaven - his first solo song in three years - due to be released later this month.

The Irish star is also off to the US where he will be a coach on The Voice this spring, and last year he put his £685,000 six-bedroom mansion in Mullingar on the market.

Slow Hands singer Niall originally bought the sprawling property for his mother Maura so that he would have somewhere to stay any time he was home. It boasts ten acres and has a heated outdoor swimming pool.

Meanwhile, he is still believed to be in a relationship with designer shoe buyer Amelia Woolley. He previously dated Pitch Perfect star Hailee Steinfeld in 2017.

He remains on good terms with all his former bandmates and even counts Zayn amongst his fans.

"I'll tell you what, Niall is my favourite. How about that? There you go. Niall makes the best music, there you go," Zayn told US radio station SiriusXM when asked who's music he prefers.

"I will say that he makes better music than me," he added. "Yeah, I'm a Niall fan."

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