'We were never in a relationship': Ellie Goulding says rumors about cheating on Ed Sheeran with Niall Horan caused her 'a lot of trauma'
GLOUCESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND: Ellie Goulding has opened up on facing "a lot of trauma" after she was falsely accused of cheating on British popstar Ed-Sheeran with Niall Horan. The 'Love Me Like You Do' hitmaker got candid about her mental health struggles following cheating rumors even though she never dated the 'Perfect' singer in a recent interview on Sunday, February 19.
"It's fascinating how many people are interested in that. It happened nine years ago. You know, completely honestly, it caused me a huge amount of … stress is not the word. It caused me a lot of trauma, actually," the 'Hate Me' singer explained to the DailyMail on Sunday. She added, "How old were we, 23? I envy the fact that my friends just spent their 20s having flings and one-night stands and what every 20-something goes through in private. But every single thing I did was written about. I was made to feel like a terrible person and I really struggled with that because I know I'm not."
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Ed Sheeran's song 'Don't'
Sheeran gained national attention in 2014 when tabloids claimed that Goulding was the inspiration for his song 'Don't', which made the followers assume that she cheated on him with former One Direction singer Horan, 29. Goulding recently posted a TikTok video of herself dancing to Harry Styles' 'As It Was', wearing a black jumpsuit. One of the TikTok users posted in the comments section, "Can't believe u cheated on Ed with Niall, but slay fr (for real)," to which the singer hit back writing, "False!!!!! But also slay." She admitted to the DailyMail that she was drunk while commenting. "I was really drunk when I wrote that," Goulding said.
'We are on good terms'
Goulding reportedly thinks the incident hurt her career since it caused her to take a five-year break. After releasing her last studio album 'Delirium' in 2015, she released 'Brightest Blue' in 2020. "I can laugh about it now but it changed things for me," she said. "I became kind of reclusive. I didn't want to perform. That's why I wrote that comment because 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." Ellie further emphasized that she had discussed the matter in detail with Ed and that they get along well, stating, "Of course [we have talked about it]! It is in the past and we're friends. We're adults."
She addressed the allegation surrounding Sheeran, when it initially surfaced in an interview with Elle UK in July 2015. "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." In contrast, she spoke candidly about her relationships with both musicians in 2016 when appearing on the cover of Seventeen. About Horan, Goulding said, "We're still friends. We went on a few dates, and it was really fun. He's a really, really lovely guy. He's got the biggest sense of humor, he's very caring, and I see him as a genuine friend in the industry." And, as for Sheeran, she said, "We've known each other for a few years. I think he's a really nice guy and a brilliant musician. We've bumped into each other and we've hung out and stuff, but the thing is if I hang out with someone, it's instantly like I'm dating them," she said. "We were never in a relationship."