Niall Horan has opened up about his time in One Direction, admitting that he and his bandmates didn’t leave their hotels – other than to perform during their heydayDaniel Bird Assistant Celebrity and Entertainment Editor
22:02, 03 Nov 2025
Niall revealed that despite his staggering fame, he managed to live a relatively private life(Image: Getty Images for Spotify)
Niall Horan didn’t leave a hotel once in five years during One Direction. The singer-songwriter has opened up about his time in the world’s biggest boy band and revealed the brutal reality of their time.
The band, consisting of Niall, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik and the late Liam Payne, were catapulted to global fame on The X Factor back in 2010. Despite gaining millions of fans overnight, the lads finished in third place behind runner-up, Rebecca Ferguson and winner, Matt Cardle.
But despite not winning, they went on to become the most successful act to ever leave the show, racking up an impressive 70 million records across the globe before their decision to part ways in 2016. Now, Niall, 32, has opened up about his time in the band, revealing that they never left their hotels and, despite the odd confrontation, they remained the closest of friends.
Niall Horan has opened up about his time in One Direction
“We definitely had good business management people, great management,” the Black and White singer said. Reflecting on his humble upbringing in Mullingar, Ireland, he went on to add: ” I always felt like the Irish thing had something to play in terms of the way I was brought up, and I was never going to get too big for my boots anyway.”
Joking, he said: “I’m sure I did in some shape or form.” Despite being in the biggest band in the world, Horan faced having his private life played out in front of millions, including his dating life and his family business.
This is something he tried to avoid, and instead, managed to maintain a certain amount of privacy. Speaking to Manchester United icons Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes and Paddy McGuinness on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, Niall continued: “I tried my best to try and keep things private outside of work because my whole life was very private and there was periods where literally didn’t leave, I’d say for five years, didn’t leave a hotel once.”
Despite finishing The X Factor in third place, One Direction sold over 70 million records(Image: WireImage)
Niall revealed that while he attempted to wrap his head around his global fame, things became too much at times. And with being kept in hotels and stadiums on the road, he and his bandmates clashed – but soon resolved their issues.
When asked whether any of his bandmates got “too big” and if they ever “b****ked each other”, he replied: “Yeah there was a little bit of it. None of us were maniacs, but we definitely looked out for each other. That’s just the way it is. We had a good crew around us, we felt like we were in our bubble.
“Until left the band, we never really knew how big it was, even though we were standing there on stage, looking out we were just in this little bubble and it was only afterwards looking back in.”
Even Niall admits that the success One Direction gained was completely unexpected, with their first performance being in front of ten million people on a Saturday night, before playing arenas and stadiums. However, despite being in their bubble, he admits that while parts of his life were normal, he struggled with aspects of his fame.
Niall opened up to Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes, and Paddy McGuinness
“I remember being in Peru,” he commented, adding: “We played in Uruguay the night before, we’d flown in after the gig into Lima, Peru, we passed this massive shopping centre, we were like ‘We’ll go there tomorrow.'” But when he woke up the next day and checked if his bandmates still fancied browsing around the shops, he faced a harsh reality.
Louis told Niall to look outside. “Police had done a head count of 10,000 people on the street outside the hotel,” he revealed. Nowadays, though, Niall admits he can freely go to the pub in London and enjoy a pint of Guinness, but whenever he returns to Mullingar, he admits it’s a completely different story.
Speaking about going solo, Niall admits he feels more pressure as a solo artist compared to his days in the band. He revealed that he misses the “team environment” of being with his bandmates on the road, as well as in the recording studio. “It does feel like [more pressure],” he said, noting that the crowd in an arena are glaring at him, and not four other people.
“The craic of it all, travelling the world at 18 and 19,” he said of missing the band camaraderie. However, Niall admits he doesn’t feel jealousy when any of his former bandmates achieve chart success with their latest records. But if they were making the same style of music, he revealed he could possibly be jealous.
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