What happened with Ed Sheeran and Niall Horan? Alleged Ellie Goulding drama explored as singers reveal where they stand today

Almost a decade after rumors circulated of a love triangle between Niall Horan, Ed Sheeran, and Ellie Goulding, the two singers seem to have now put the gossip behind them and are showing mutual admiration toward each other.

Their feud dates back to 2014 when Sheeran dropped the hit single “Don’t,” a song about someone cheating on him, which was widely rumored to be about Goulding supposedly being unfaithful with the former One Direction member.

The lyrics, which mentioned betrayal, an affair, and the characters staying at the same hotel, ignited fan theories that the song was purportedly about a love triangle involving the trio.

Ed Sheeran and Goulding were rumored to have been dating at the time. According to Us Weekly, they’d been spotted holding hands at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards. Goulding has always insisted that they were never together.

While it was never specifically confirmed who the person behind “Don’t” was, Sheeran did reveal that the song was his way of getting over a difficult time.

"For me, it needed to be done. It didn’t necessarily have to go on the album, but it definitely needed to be written." He told Entertainment Weekly.

He also added that a newspaper report claiming the song was connected to Goulding and Horan was inaccurate and would later be retracted.

More about Ed Sheeran and Niall Horan addressing the past controversy

It looks like any past tension between Ed Sheeran and Niall Horan has long been forgotten, as Sheeran recently posted a throwback picture of him and Horan from 2014 on Instagram. The post was part of a series of photos from an old phone he had switched off during a past legal dispute.

"me and nialler in vegas." He captioned the post.

Horan later reposted the Vegas selfie, tagging Sheeran and writing “Love ya.” Their relationship as friends was further cemented in 2023 at a concert in Dublin when Horan brought Sheeran on stage unannounced for a performance of the pair’s duet, “Little Things,” which Sheeran co-wrote for the boy band.

According to US Weekly, The duo also sang “Lego House” together and hung out afterward at a backstage party, where they playfully went head to head in an Irish drinking game called “Split the G.”

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Ed Sheeran is now married to Cherry Seaborn and is a father of two daughters. On the other hand, Ellie Goulding—who welcomed a son with ex-husband Caspar Jopling—has been open about the impact the rumors had on her.

"Every day I get comments about this stupid teenage situation. It was nothing and it was private and it caused me such a huge amount of grief and I resent it." She said.

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