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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Susan Knox

Niall Horan's colourful love life from Ellie Goulding 'affair' to Selena Gomez romance

Niall Horan is one of the most sought after male singers on the planet, but sadly, the former One Direction star is spoken for and has been since 2020.

The Irish superstar, 29, shot to fame back in 2010 as one-fifth of One Direction, joining bandmates Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne and Zayn Malik on the X Factor before the five boys went on to reach global fame in one of the biggest boybands the world has ever seen.

Since shooting to fame, Niall has at times enjoyed his single life, but for the most part, he has been more of a relationship man.

While the Slow Hands hitmaker has been in a committed relationship with his current girlfriend, Amelia Woolley, since 2020, he has also dated some other huge names in the music industry including Selena Gomez and Ellie Goulding.

Here, we take a look at Niall's colourful love life down through the years.

Zoe Whelan

After he shot to fame on the X Factor, Niall was linked to several models and students, but in 2012 it was Irish model Zoe Whelan who captured his attention.

The former One Direction star made headlines when he brought Zoe as a date to his brother Greg's wedding in Ireland.

Zoe, now 29, has continued to remain silent about her romance with Niall, and has for years to chat about their relationship – despite being offered huge money for a tell-all interview by publications around the world.

After just a few months of dating, and after the pair enjoyed a special day at Niall's brother's wedding, the pair called it quits.

At the time, a source told The Mirror: “It is all over for Niall and Zoe – and it is completely because of his side of things.

“Obviously, it was always going to be hard to have an ongoing relationship when his job has him travelling around so much.

“But there’s been no push from Niall to keep things going at all and has told Zoe it is over by completely blanking her.

“Over the past few weeks her modelling career has become huge, but Niall hasn’t been in contact to say well done. She hasn’t even had a text from him, let alone a call, for nearly two weeks.

“Out of respect to Niall, she refused to say a word to anyone about the relationship – even when there was money on the table to spill the beans as she knew it would be over then.

“But it seems just doing her job is too much for 1D’s people, who appear to have pressured Niall to cut all ties with Zoe. It’s cruel the way he’s done it, and she’s obviously a bit devastated it’s over.”

Barbara Palvin

Niall was linked to model Barbara Palvin in 2013 (Getty Images)
Niall is said to have briefly dated Barbara (WireImage)

Before model Barbara Palvin found love with actor Dylan Sprouse, she was briefly linked to Niall back in December 2013, following his split from Zoe.

The pair were photographed holding hands as they left X Factor wrap party at London's One Marylebone club.

Although they looked very cosy in the snaps together, Niall's team later clarified to E! News that he and Barbara were 'just friends.'

Ellie Goulding

Ellie Goulding is arguably the most controversial of his former relationships (Getty Images for iHeartMedia)
Ellie has since denied the rumours (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Niall's brief romance with singer Ellie Goulding is arguably the most controversial of his former relationships.

Given that Ellie was also dating Ed Sheeran at the time, the Lego House singer was left livid when he discovered that she and Niall were also seeing one another - unbeknownst to him.

Although it is unclear when exactly Niall and Ellie dated, their relationship first made headlines in 2014 when Ed released a song titled 'Don't' which is widely reported to be inspired by Ed's ex Ellie and her apparent 'affair' with the former One Direction singer.

Niall Horan and Ellie Goulding are believed to have went on a string of dates (Instagram / elliegoulding)

During an interview with ELLE UK in 2015, Ellie addressed the affair rumor as she denied that anything malicious had happened between the trio.

"I did go on a few dates with Niall, but I was never in a relationship with Ed," she explained.

"I have absolutely no idea where that came from and why it was turned into such a big thing."

Selena Gomez

Niall was spotted looking cosy with Selena on several occasions (PA)
Niall is believed to have dated Selena (Daily Record)

After the drama with Ellie Goulding, Niall seemingly kept a low-profile for a couple of years before he was linked to singing sensation, Selena Gomez in 2015.

The talented pair were spotted cosying up together at Jenna Tatum's 35th birthday bash where they spotted kissing, hugging and dancing close with one another.

It didn't end there however, as the pair reportedly went on a string of dates after that, one of which where they were spotted on a cute date night at Santa Monica Pier near Los Angeles.

Although neither Niall or Selena confirmed nor denied the romance rumours, a number of months later Selena gushed over the Irish singer.

"I love him, I always have. He's amazing," she said of Niall.

Hailee Steinfeld

Hailee and Niall dated for a year (Getty Images for dcp)

In February 2018, Niall made headlines across the globe when he and singer/actress Hailee Steinfeld they were spotted singing and dancing together at a Backstreet Boys show.

Immediately fans went into a frenzy as they dubbed the pair the 'perfect showbiz couple'.

Sadly, the romance wasn't to last as the pair split and went their separate ways after a little over a year of dating.

Actress Hailee, 26, called time on her romance with the One Direction star because of her 'insanely busy' schedule.

The relationship didn't last (FilmMagic for dcp)
Hailee released a song which is thought to be about Niall (Getty Images for MTV)

A source told E! News at the time: 'Hailee and Niall were going strong over the summer but split a few months ago and have been trying to keep it low-key.

"Hailee realised she had a lot on her plate and her work schedule was insanely busy. She was gearing up for a huge press tour for her new movie. They realised they would be apart for mass amounts of time.

"They really tried to make it work. It definitely was young love."

Amelia Woolley

Niall has been dating Amelia for over three years (Getty Images)

Since splitting with Hailee, Niall has been dating Amelia Woolley since early 2020.

The couple have kept their relationship largely out of the public eye, but in recent months, Niall has began to open up about his relationship a bit more, gushing over his girlfriend in recent interviews.

In September 2021, the lovebirds made their public debut at the singer's Horan & Rose Gala.

Niall and Amelia then publicly confirmed their relationship when they were pictured strolling arm in arm on their way home from Sunday brunch in London.

Niall has announced his 2024 'The Show' world tour (Press/PA)

Amelia is a fashion buyer from Birmingham with a first-class degree in Fashion Business. She lives in Kensington, after moving to London for her job.

The couple are said to have spent a lot of time together throughout the Covid lockdown, bringing them closer together.

A source told MailOnline at the time: “Niall is very serious about Amelia, lockdown has definitely intensified his feelings for her. Niall has been seeing Amelia for the last two months. He thinks Amelia's gorgeous but they also really get on – and she's told close friends this could be the real deal.

“Amelia has spent a lot of time getting to know Niall at his London apartment after lockdown restrictions eased.”

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