Before he was a global superstar, Harry Styles was apparently practicing the art of the Irish goodbye. Little Mix‘s Jade Thirlwall revealed that the future Grammy winner stopped responding to her messages once One Direction‘s career began taking off on The X Factor.
During an appearance on The Louis Theroux Podcast, Thirlwall, 32, recounted their brief connection during the 2010 season of the U.K. talent show. “I think we went on like one date when we were 16 or something,” she shared. “He had just been put in a band and it was really funny because we kept in touch.”
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However, the budding romance hit a sudden wall once the competition’s live shows began. “The minute they went on live shows he didn’t message me back,” Thirlwall recalled, adding with humor, “I thought, ‘That’s it now. He’s gone, he’s made it.’”
While Thirlwall didn’t initially make the cut in her 2010 X Factor audition, Styles was grouped with Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Liam Payne to form One Direction, placing third in the competition. The following year marked Thirlwall’s successful return when she joined Little Mix alongside Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Perrie Edwards, and Jesy Nelson, ultimately winning the season.
During a backstage encounter that year, Styles addressed his disappearing act. “I saw him in a room after and he was like, ‘I’m really sorry that I ignored you,’” she said, laughing as Theroux dubbed it a classic case of ghosting. The podcast host jokingly noted that Styles “could be listening” to the episode as he’s a friend of the show.
Thirlwall harbors no ill feelings about the teenage snub. “Again, I was so young it didn’t really matter,” she reflected, praising her former date’s success. “He’s gotten himself where he is because he’s very talented. He’s very lovely, very charming.”
Both artists have achieved significant success since their teenage encounter. While Styles went on to become one of music’s biggest solo stars after One Direction’s hiatus, Little Mix dominated the British pop scene for a decade.
Now pursuing her own solo career after Little Mix’s 2021 hiatus announcement following Nelson’s 2020 departure, Thirlwall has released several singles, including “Angel of My Dreams,” “Midnight Cowboy,” “Fantasy,” and “IT Girl.” Under her belt are six studio albums with Little Mix between 2012 and 2020, including three singles on the Billboard Hot 100.
The revelation adds another facet to the interconnected history of One Direction and Little Mix members, which notably included a four-year relationship between Perrie Edwards and Zayn Malik that ended in 2015.
