Former One Direction Members: Where Are They Now?

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Former One Direction Members Today: Relationships, Breakups, Babies and More

One Direction may be on an extended hiatus, but Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik have continued to make music — and headlines — over the years.

After forming and finishing in third place on the U.K.’s version of The X Factor in 2010, One Direction released four successful studio albums — Up All Night, Take Me Home, Midnight Memories and Four. Following five years as a group, however, Malik was the first to leave the band, announcing his departure in March 2015.

“My life with One Direction has been more than I could ever have imagined. But, after five years, I feel like it is now the right time for me to leave the band,” he said in a statement at the time. “I’d like to apologize to the fans if I’ve let anyone down, but I have to do what feels right in my heart. I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight. I know I have four friends for life in Louis, Liam, Harry and Niall. I know they will continue to be the best band in the world.”

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Horan, Payne, Styles and Tomlinson went on to release a fifth album, Made in the A.M., sans Malik. Shortly after the record dropped, however, the remaining band members announced they were taking an extended hiatus. Less than a year later, Us Weekly broke the news in that the foursome decided “not to renew their recording contract,” ultimately calling it quits as a band.

“The 1D thing just ran its course,” an insider dished to Us in January 2016. “They’ll remain friends, but they are exhausted and want solo careers.”

Scroll through for an update on where the former 1D stars are today:

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Niall Horan

The Irish singer landed a solo record deal in 2016, releasing singles “This Town” and “Slow Hands” from his debut album, Flicker, in 2017. In addition to hitting the road to promote his new music, Horan started a relationship with Hailee Steinfeld in 2018. Us confirmed in December 2018 that the twosome called it quits after months of dating. “Niall wrapped up his tour and had more free time, but Hailee’s work schedule really ramped up, so they didn’t have time for a relationship,” a source told Us at the time. “They still have a lot of love for each other.” He released his second album, Heartbreak Weather, in 2020.

He began dating fashion buyer Amelia Woolley in May 2020. 

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Liam Payne

One year after Payne started dating singer Cheryl Cole in 2016, they welcomed a son named Bear. While the duo called it quits in July 2018, they work together to coparent their baby boy. “I’m the strict one; Liam isn’t,” Cole told The Telegraph in April 2019. “[Liam is] much softer than me. But it is what it is, and I’m OK about it. When you have a baby, you are not consumed with just thinking about yourself. It’s your responsibility to keep things settled and happy, so you make the best of everything. And we have.”

Payne released “Strip That Down” in 2017, followed by his debut album, LP1, in 2019.

The British crooner was also briefly linked to supermodel Naomi Campbell before getting engaged to model Maya Henry in August 2020. He confirmed the pair’s split in June 2021. The following month, news broke that they were back together.

In May 2022, Us confirmed that the duo called it quits for good.

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Harry Styles

Styles’ self-titled debut album topped the charts in 14 countries following its 2017 release. Rolling Stone also named the lead single, “Sign of the Times,” the song of the year. Styles hasn’t stopped there though — he made his movie debut in 2017’s Dunkirk alongside Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney and Jack Lowden and released a second critically acclaimed album, Fine Line, in 2019.

The singer’s personal life made headlines when he reunited with ex-flame Kendall Jenner several times since their original 2013 fling. In September 2016, the pair even spent three consecutive days together, with a source telling Us that the model was “superhappy, bubbly and excited that he got back in touch with her.” The exes most recently hung out on The Late Late Show With James Corden in December 2019.

After meeting on the set of Don’t Worry Darling, Styles began dating Olivia Wilde in January 2021. His third solo album, Harry’s House, dropped in May 2022.

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Louis Tomlinson

Tomlinson paved the way for Payne as the first member of the band to start a family in January 2016 when his ex Briana Jungwirth gave birth to their son, Freddie.

He released singles “Back to You” and “Just Like You” in 2017 following One Direction’s split. The musician also returned to The X Factor, serving as a judge on the 15th season of the U.K. singing competition. His first album, Walls, came out in 2020. In November 2022, he released his second album, Faith in the Future, and announced a solo headlining tour for the following year. 

The “Two of Us” singer faced a personal hardship in March 2019 when his 18-year-old sister, Félicité, died. “Just wanted to thank everyone for their lovely words over the past couple of weeks,” Tomlinson tweeted in April 2019. “Back in the studio today to vocal something I wrote a few months ago. Sending you all loads of love x.” His mother also passed in December 2016, a year after the group last sang together. 

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Zayn Malik

Malik found success with hit single “Pillowtalk” and debut studio album Mind of Mine in 2016. After taking home an American Music Award and MTV VMA, the “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” singer released in his second studio album, Icarus Falls, in December 2018. His third album, Nobody is Listening, debuted in January 2021.

Malik split from fiancée Perrie Edwards shortly after his exit from 1D and began seeing model Gigi Hadid. The twosome started seeing each other in late 2015 and continued dating on and off for years. In September 2020, they welcomed their first child, Khai Hadid Malik.

One year after the birth of their daughter, Us confirmed that Malik and Hadid had split.