Harry Styles after they met on The X Factor in 2010. The relationship didn’t go anywhere, though, and it was all the “As It Was” singer’s fault.
Speaking on The Louis Theroux Podcast, Thirlwall dished out on every hot topic surrounding her career so far, including a near romance with Styles when they were 16.
While Little Mix was formed on The X Factor a year after One Direction, Thirlwall had auditioned twice by then. The first came in 2008 when she met Styles’ would-be 1D bandmate Liam Payne, though neither advanced to the final rounds. The South Shields native returned two years later, making it to the bootcamp stage and crossing paths again with Payne. That time around, she also met pop star hopeful Styles, when he was just a curly-haired cherubic teen.
Look who we ran into backstage at the Teen Choice Awards! @OneDirection YAY! pic.twitter.com/ASMgw47tiz
— Little Mix (@LittleMix) August 14, 2013
“We went on one date when we were 16. He’d just got put in [One Direction],” the “Angel of My Dreams” singer told Theroux. On YouTube, you can still find the skit both musicians participated in during the show, where multiple female contestants, one of them Thirlwall, pretended to have been stood up by Styles after exchanging phone numbers. That supposedly fake scenario might have been inspired by behind-the-scenes gossip, because that’s exactly what happened to the Little Mix alum.
“It was really funny because we kept in touch,” she continued, “And then the minute they went on live shows he didn’t message me back, and I thought, ‘That’s it now. He’s gone. He’s made it.’” Styles, of course, was put in a boy band with Payne, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik — the biggest in the world during the first half of the 2010s.
In 2011, Little Mix emerged as the female version of the boys. Finally, Thirlwall got to advance to live shows alongside her group partners Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jesy Nelson, and Perrie Edwards. They went on to win the show (the first girl group to do so), carving their own spot on the map of British pop stardom, right alongside One Direction.
That’s when Styles finally ran into Thirlwall again, tail between his legs, and apology on hand. “I saw him after, and he was like, ‘I’m really sorry that I ignored you,’” she recalled.
Had they dated in 2010, they would have become the first 1D/Little Mix couple before Edwards and Malik started their relationship in 2011. The romantic fusion of from the U.K.’s hottest boy band and girl group was so iconic it fueled romance, drama, fanfiction, a few really amazing singles, and, less excitingly, dumb fan wars and vicious hate directed primarily at Edwards.
So, considering that last part, in hindsight, maybe staying away from Styles was for the best for Thirlwall. But the opposite is not true, according to fans of both bands on X. “Didn’t think i’d ever use this word but this is the greatest fumble of all time omg,” said one . “Did we just find harry’s biggest loss? I love this woman,” another agreed.
While we definitely concur, it’s all water under the bridge. Thirlwall says she was so young that the whole thing “didn’t really matter.” “He was always very, very lovely,” she continued, adding that it was his stand-up personality and “talent” that “got [him] to where he is.” Styles may be single at the moment and cursing under his breath for letting Thirlwall go, but the former Little Mix member is madly in love and in a very happy relationship with rapper boyfriend Jordan Stephens.
Published: Jan 21, 2025 12:33 pm