Little Mix alum Jade Thirlwall reveals Harry Styles ghosted her after he got famous: 'We went on like 1 date'

Some Wattpad writers have just been vindicated: it turns out that Little Mix alum Jade Thirlwall once had a short-lived romance with One Direction's Harry Styles.

Thirlwall opened up about the fizzled flirtation during a visit to The Louis Theroux Podcast, explaining that the duo crossed paths during their tenure on The X Factor. 

"We went on like one date when we were 16 or something," she told Theroux, explaining that Styles has just been "put in the band" that would one day launch him into global superstardom.  As for Thirlwall, she didn't make it past auditions and would return to the reality singing show the following year.

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"It was really funny because we kept in touch and then the minute they went on live shows, he didn’t message me back," she recalled. "I thought, ‘That’s it now. He’s gone. He’s made it.'"

A year later, they reconnected thanks to The X Factor. Much like Styles, Thirlwall auditioned solo before being placed into a group with Perrie Edwards, Jesy Nelson, and Leigh-Anne Pinnock. In one of their final performances, as finalists, the quartet sang alongside One Direction — composed of Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, and Liam Payne.

"I made it the next year, and I saw him in a room after and he was like, ‘I'm really sorry that I ignored you,’” Thirlwall said of Styles.

Theroux asked, “He ghosted you?”

“Yes, but I was so young it didn’t really matter," Thirlwall replied.

Even though Styles failed to text her back in a timely manner, Thirlwall still spoke highly of the singer, adding, "He’s got himself to where he is because he’s very talented and he’s very lovely. Very charming."

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Little Mix went on to the 2011 season of The X Factor and though One Direction had previously come in third, both groups would find success well beyond the competition show. After emerging out of the show in such quick succession, the groups were oft-closesly associated — in part because Thirlwall isn't the only Little Mix singer who had a romance with a member of the boyband. Edwards dated Malik for four years, and even got engaged, before their relationship ended in 2015.

Related: One Direction members pay tribute to Liam Payne after his death at 31: 'We will miss him terribly'

During her conversation with Theroux, Thirlwall addressed the recent death of One Direction's Payne, who died on Oct. 16 after a fatal fall at an Argentina hotel.

Asked whether she believes the pressures of being in a boyband contributed to his death, Thirlwall replied, "I don't think I can talk on it in depth because I don't think it's my place to because I didn't really know him over the last few years. But I think everyone that enters the industry at a young age is going to go through it in some way, and it can be really lonely when you're that huge."

She added, "None of those boys could just go out and do whatever they wanted, being stuck in hotel rooms and having nothing to do. So I think it all makes sense that being in a boy band can contribute to  being in a dark place, for sure."

As for whether her time with Little Mix had it's lonely moments, Thirlwall said, "Yes, 100 percent." She noted that the lowest moments often came when the group was celebrating a career high.

"I just think there's so much pressure. I think the bigger you get the more you're sort of conditioned that you have to keep that up because if you come anywhere below that you're flopping," she observed. "I definitely had moments where I did have very severe depression and anxiety."

Nelson departed the group in December 2020, citing mental health struggles, and Little Mix continued as a trio until announcing a hiatus in 2022.

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