English singer and songwriter Ellie Goulding has addressed the age-long rumor that she cheated on Ed Sheeran with former member of One Direction, Niall Horan.
The British pop star sparked romance rumors with Sheeran in 2013 after they were seen holding hands at an award ceremony. She was also linked with Horan after they were reportedly spotted showing PDA at a festival in England.
After a fan brought up the long-running rumor in a TikTok comment, Goulding, who insisted she was only good friends with Sheeran at the time, denied it, saying it was false. She’s now married to Casper Jopling, while Sheeran found love with his childhood sweetheart, Cherry Seaborn.
Keep on reading to learn more.
Ellie Goulding Says The Rumor Was False
The “Love me like you do” crooner finally addressed the age-long speculation that she cheated on Sheeran with Horan.
“Can’t believe u cheated on Ed with Niall but slay fr,” a fan commented on the singer’s TikTok video of herself dancing to Harry Styles’ “As it Was,” prompting her to refute the persistent rumor.
She responded to the comment by saying, “False!!! But also slay.”
Ellie Goulding denies long-standing rumor that she cheated on Ed Sheeran with Niall Horan. pic.twitter.com/xsRXtYpRRp
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) January 4, 2023
When Goulding, 36, and Sheeran, 31, were spotted holding hands at the MTV VMAs in 2013, their relationship was speculated to be romantic, but the singer insisted they were simply close friends.
According to Daily Mail, She tweeted at the time, “I love that holding hands with my friends means we’re an item. In that case, I am in many relationships. Lover, not a hater. #whatthef**k.”
Fans were surprised that she paid attention to the rumor after years of speculation, with a fan saying, “Never mind Ed or Niall; I’m available.”
Ed Sheeran Claimed They Were More Than Friends
On a U.S. radio program, the “thinking out loud” singer provided a different account from Goulding’s assertion, saying, “It was going on. And now it’s not.”
He confirmed that he and Goulding were more than just friends when asked about the rumors, saying: “I mean, normal people don’t hold hands if they’re just friends.”
When Sheeran released the song “Don’t” in 2014, in which he sings about being dumped by another musician, many fans assumed the song was about him, Goulding, and Horan.
According to E! News, Sheeran told Entertainment Weekly that he never confirmed fan assumptions around “Don’t” and that a British newspaper had reported on it being about Goulding and Horan.
“We got in touch, and they took the story down,” he shared. “But obviously the damage had already been done by that point because every other newspaper picked up on it.”
Ellie Goulding Admitted To Dating Niall Horan
Goulding has in the past reflected on her rumored relationship with the “Slow Hands” singer.
“I did go on a few dates with Niall but I was never in a relationship with Ed,” Goulding told ELLE U.K. in 2015. “I have absolutely no idea where that came from and why it was turned into such a big thing.”
According to Mirror, the pair was confirmed to be an item after going public with a massive PDA at the time and even getting the couple name “Nellie.”
She has since gotten married to Casper Jopling, with whom she welcomed a son in 2021.
Ellie Goulding Is Tired Of Stereotypes
According to Daily Mail, Goulding expressed her frustrations over the fact that female musicians are defined by the men they have or haven’t been with, adding that Taylor Swift shares the same sentiment.
“I find it so frustrating that female musicians are constantly defined by the men they have or haven’t dated. It’s something I’ve talked about with Taylor (Swift) a lot. She definitely feels that,” Goulding said.
“She gets bothered by it. It’s like, you can be a great artist, you can write great songs, but the thing that everyone is going to talk about is some relationship they think you have had or not had. It’s definitely something we both think happens to female artists over male artists,” she added.