One Direction's Harry Styles Gets Real About What Happened With Taylor Swift

04/18/2017 09:50 pm EDT

Notoriously private Harry Styles is opening up about something everyone has pretty much always wondered about - his relationship with Taylor Swift.

The former One Direction front man has recently reinvented his sound, gone solo and is ready to reintroduce himself to the world and according to USA Today, that means clearing the air about an ultra-famous blond bombshell he dated for awhile.

"When I see photos from that day," Styles told Rolling Stone magazine, when asked about paparazzi shots from their second date, "I think: Relationships are hard, at any age. And adding in that you don't really understand exactly how it works when you're 18, trying to navigate all that stuff didn't make it easier. I mean, you're a little bit awkward to begin with. You're on a date with someone you really like. It should be that simple, right? It was a learning experience for sure. But at the heart of it – I just wanted it to be a normal date."

MORE: Harry Styles Officially Moving Forward as a Solo Artist

As for the 1989 album songs he may or may not have inspired, he isn't holding a grudge or anything. If they are, Styles admits he appreciates the artistry involved.

"I mean, I don't know if they're about me or not ..." he said. "But the issue is, she's so good, they're bloody everywhere. I write from my experiences; everyone does that. I'm lucky if everything [we went through] helped create those songs. That's what hits your heart. That's the stuff that's hardest to say, and it's the stuff I talk least about. That's the part that's about the two people. I'm never going to tell anybody everything."

He continued, "She doesn't need me to tell her they're great. They're great songs ... It's the most amazing unspoken dialogue ever."

All we can say is, dang Harry Styles, your maturity is off the charts. The way he views his relationship with Swift now is enough to make us believe in humanity again - even when a breakup is involved.

"Certain things don't work out. There's a lot of things that can be right, and it's still wrong," Styles said. "In writing songs about stuff like that, I like tipping a hat to the time together. You're celebrating the fact it was powerful and made you feel something, rather than 'this didn't work out, and that's bad.' And if you run into that person, maybe it's awkward, maybe you have to get drunk ... but you shared something. Meeting someone new, sharing those experiences, it's the best (expletive) ever. So thank you."

We mean, who thanks their ex? Everyone ought to take a page out of Styles' book of emotional health.

Related:

Tom Hiddleston Opens up About His Past Relationship With Taylor Swift
Watch: Taylor Swift and Gigi Hadid Freak Out After Hearing 'I Don't Wanna Live Forever' on the Radio
Mom of 7-Year-Old Taylor Swift Impersonator Defends Her Daughter

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