Louis Tomlinson couldn’t do anything to stop the extreme ways in which some One Direction fans shipped him with Harry Styles.

Image by Fiona McKinlay, Raph_PH, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 & CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

One of the wild rumors about One Direction involved a supposed romance between two of its members. Louis Tomlinson and Harry Style were shipped together for years, which even prompted Tomlinson to take measures to block ‘Larry’ shippers on Instagram. Interestingly, Tomlinson is still addressing the rumored romance in 2024.

Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, and Zayn Malik in Best Song Ever | Credits: Syco/Columbia

These fans took matters to the extreme when they created tribute videos featuring Tomlinson & Styles. They even created artwork and fanfictions featuring the duo as a gay couple. While fans unleashed their creativity, Tomlinson was not happy with the rumors and shared that it was disrespectful to his girlfriend.

Louis Tomlinson Addresses Relationship Rumors With Harry Styles Again

Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles in Still the One music video | Credits: Syco

Louis Tomlinson was frustrated about the relationship rumors with Harry Styles, but never did he thought that he had to address them still in 2024. Unlike in 2016, Tomlinson has become more accepting of the fact that he couldn’t do anything to stop the ‘Larry’ devotees.

Tomlinson spoke to Brazilian magazine G1 earlier this year, where he shared that the fans were so invested in what they believed that they wouldn’t see the actual truth. It could be a little frustrating for the Back to You singer, but he now understood that it was the nature of the job. Louis Tomlinson shared with G1:

I realised this so many years ago, there’s nothing I can say or do to dispel the believers of that conspiracy. They are so intertwined with what they believe to be the truth now that they won’t actually see the truth for what it is. It does irritate me a little bit but it’s just kind of nature of the job I suppose.

Tomlinson further shared that the fan stories would often cross boundaries which was not fair to him or his family including his son Freddie. Louis Tomlinson has never opened up about his sexuality. He was in a long-term relationship with his girlfriend Eleanor Calder. They broke up in 2015 and reunited in 2017. In January 2023, they announced that their relationship was over (via Metro).

He dated actress Danielle Campbell from November 2015 to December 2016. He shares his son Freddie, born on January 21, 2016, with stylist Briana Jungwirth.

Louis Tomlinson Earlier Said That Harry Styles Rumors Were Disrespectful To His Girlfriend

Louis Tomlinson in the Back to You music video | Credits: Syco/Epic

Louis Tomlinson addressed the rumors back in 2017, sharing with The Sun that the rumors about him and Harry Styles came out of nowhere. He shared that it was a “conspiracy” that a few fans drew about them. He added that it was disrespectful to Eleanor Calder, his girlfriend at the time. He shared with The Sun (via The Pink News):

I’ve never actually been asked about it directly. It’s a funny thing. It kind of happened naturally for me and Harry because a certain amount of the fans drew up this conspiracy. When it first came around I was with Eleanor, and it actually felt a little bit disrespectful to Eleanor, who is my girlfriend now.

Tomlinson also added that his relationship with Styles was affected because of the rumors. He shared that the interaction between the two of them was heavily scrutinized. He added it made things a little more unapproachable within the band. Tomlinson shared:

I’m so protective over things like that, about the people I love. So it created this atmosphere between the two of us where everyone was looking into everything we did. It took away the vibe you get off anyone. It made everything a little bit more unapproachable. I think [what’s happened since] shows that it was never anything ‘real’ if I can use that word.

Harry Styles has dated only women in his life, however, he stated in 2014 that it was not important for him to date within a particular gender. He joked at the time in an interview with The Sun, “Hey, don’t knock it ’til you try it”. He has been supportive of the LGBT+ community and has been praised for his gender-fluid fashion choices.