The biggest moments of Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson's friendship so far

We love these two!

Author: Charlotte RoszkoPublished 8th Apr 2024
Last updated 17th Oct 2024

One Direction was made up of the late Liam Payne, along with Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles and Zayn Malik, with fans always eager for the band to reunite, prior to the sad news of Liam's tragic death in October 2024. Throughout their solo careers, the boys always continued to support one another.

Louis and Harry were known for having a close friendship while in the group which was founded on The X Factor, and although they may not be in as regular contact these days, Louis only has good words to say about the 'Harry's House' star.

From their friendship on The X Factor to supporting each other's solo careers, we've compiled some of Louis and Harry's best moments throughout the years.

Take a look at Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson through the years:

2010 - One Direction compete on The X Factor

After initially auditioning for The X Factor as solo artists in 2010, One Direction - Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Zayn Malik - were formed at Bootcamp in July.
The band performed together for the first time in front of Simon Cowell and Sinitta at Judges Houses, singing 'Torn' by Natalie Imbruglia. After securing a place in the Live Shows, One Direction made it all the way to the final, where they finished in third place behind Rebecca Ferguson and winner Matt Cardle.

2011 - Louis wished Harry a happy birthday

Louis shared a sweet message to Harry on his 17th birthday in 2011. He wrote: 'Massive happy birthday @Harry_Styles show the love twitter !! So lucky to have you man !!'


Thanking his friend, Harry replied and said: 'thanks bud...and you, so glad to have you :) .x.'

2011 - The One Direction boys attended a book signing

At a book signing at HMV in Manchester in March 2011 for the band's book 'Forever Young: Our Official X Factor Story', Harry wore a t-shirt which was adorned with the phrase 'Harry hearts Louis' - subsequently cementing the pair's bromance!

2011 - Louis tweeted Harry

On 2nd October 2011 Louis posted the following tweet to his account: 'Always in my heart @Harry_Styles. Yours sincerely, Louis.' At the time of writing, the tweet has been retweeted over 2.7 million times and has amassed over 1.5 million likes.

2011 - Harry shared a tweet after having dinner with Louis

Harry and Louis often tagged each other in tweets after hanging out. In October 2011, Harry wrote: 'Had a lovely dinner with @Louis_Tomlinson last night.. Good sorbet.'

2011 - The 'Up All Night' tour

Here, Harry and Louis are pictured performing on stage together in Wolverhampton with the rest of their bandmates on the 'Up All Night' tour, which was One Direction's first tour as a band.
Due to Louis and Harry's close friendship since the band was formed on X Factor, some fans believed in the 'Larry' theory, which alleged that the pair were 'more than friends.' However, Louis Tomlinson has confirmed that this is untrue.

2012 - The boys attended the BRIT Awards

In February 2012, One Direction attended the BRIT Awards, where they won the British Single of the Year award for 'What Makes You Beautiful.'

2012 - Louis addressed the 'Larry' rumours

After being such good friends in the band, rumours circulated that the pair were more than friends, with some fans dubbing them 'Larry Stylinson.' The 'Larry' rumours were addressed by Louis in an interview with MuchMusic in June 2012, where he confirmed they're just good friends.

2012 - Harry and Louis pictured following a TV appearance

Harry and Louis pictured in Dublin in October 2012 following their appearance on The Late Late Show. During the show, the band talked about their success and promoted their album 'Take Me Home.'

2012 - Harry wishes Louis a happy birthday

The pals would often wish each other a happy birthday online. On Louis' 21st birthday in 2012, Harry tweeted: '@Louis_Tomlinson HAVE A HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAL!!!! Hope you're having a good one .x.'

2013 - This Is Us released

One Direction's film This Is Us was released in September 2013, which included concert footage and lots of heart-warming moments between the boys. During the film, Louis said: "In school I was always trying to play the class clown, always been that guy that makes people laugh."
Meanwhile, Harry said: "When I was little I knew that I wanted to entertain people. I was a proper show off."

2015 - One Direction announce a hiatus

One Direction announced they were going on hiatus in December 2015. The boys decided to take a break due to their busy schedules, as well as spending time pursuing solo projects. The hiatus came after Zayn left the band in March 2015.

2016 - Louis released his debut solo single

Louis released his debut solo single 'Just Hold On' with Steve Aoki on 10th December 2016. The song reached Number 2 in the UK Chart.

2016 - Harry supports Louis at The X Factor days after Louis lost his mum

Louis performed solo for the first time at The X Factor live shows in 2016, where he sang his track 'Just Hold On.' Louis had sadly lost his mum just days before he bravely took to the stage in her honour. Harry, Liam and Niall went to see Louis perform and show their support.

2017 - Harry launched his solo career

Harry released his debut solo single 'Sign of the Times' on 7th April 2017. The single went to Number 1 on the UK Chart.
This was followed up by the release of Harry's debut solo album 'Harry Styles' on 12th May 2017. The album reached Number 1 on the UK Albums Chart.

2017 - Louis opened up

Louis opened up about his place in the band in an interview with The Guardian in June 2017, where he said: "Niall is lovely, Zayn has the voice, Harry is cool, Liam gets the crowd going… then there's me."
He also discussed the encouragement he received from his late mum Johannah. Louis said: "Sometimes my reservation, or my confidence, might have prevented me from doing something. And I've needed a mum in the past to kick me up the arse and go: 'You're doing it.'"

2017 - Louis discussed the negative impact of the 'Larry Stylinson' rumours

In an interview in July 2017, Louis discussed the 'Larry Stylinson' theories held by some fans, explaining how they had negatively impacted his relationship with his girlfriend at the time, Eleanor Calder. Louis also revealed that the rumours had put some distance between him and Harry.

2020 - Louis releases his debut album

On 31st January 2020, Louis released his debut album, 'Walls'. The album reached Number 4 on the UK Albums Chart.

2020 - One Direction's 10th anniversary

One Direction celebrated their 10th anniversary on 23rd July 2020. Harry, Louis, Liam and Niall posted about the special date on their social media pages.
Harry shared a heartfelt post on his Instagram page, where he thanked the fans, the crew and his bandmates. Louis shared the band's first ever photo on Instagram as well as sharing two tweets - one thanking the boys, and the other thanking the fans.

2022 - Louis called Harry his 'brother'

In an interview with the Telegraph in 2022, Louis referred to Harry as his 'brother'. Praising Harry's career, he said: "He's not just doing music, he's got film as well, and the tour he's done is unbelievable. It took me a while to work out where I stand.
"I look on Harry like a brother, man. I have a lot of pride for what he's doing."
In November 2022, Louis told ET Canada: "We're brothers. We experienced so much together. There's so many different singles, we'd be texting each other every week. Normally around the album, that's when I normally try and text the lads and I'm sure they'll do the same."

2023 - Louis opened up about One Direction split

In 2023, Louis revealed in an interview with The Times that he felt 'absolutely gutted' when One Direction went on hiatus. Louis also admitted to feeling some 'envy' at the start of Harry's solo career whilst he was still finding his feet.

2023 - Louis addressed rumours that he had a relationship with Harry

In October 2023, Louis addressed rumours that he had a 'relationship' with Harry, calling such suggestions a 'childish conspiracy theory.' A fan asked Louis on X (formerly Twitter) how to make chicken parmesan - the meal that 'Larries' claim the pair ate on their 'first date.'
Replying to them, Louis said: 'You start by realising all these ridiculous childish theories and conspiracies are wasted time and energy and then just throw the chicken in the oven to be fair.'

2024 - Louis speaks out on the rumours in a new interview

Louis spoke out about the 'Larry' rumours once more in an interview with Brazilian publication g1 in April 2024, and he's reported as saying in a translation by BuzzFeed that there's "nothing he can say" to "stop" the "conspiracy". He added: "They are so connected to what they believe that they will not see the truth for what it really is. I'm sure many people look and find all these little conspiracies that happen in life interesting. I'd be lying if I said it didn't irritate me a little, but it's the nature of the job."

Read more:

Harry Styles: Everything you need to know about the 'As It Was' singer

80 weird and wonderful facts about Harry Styles 💕

Louis Tomlinson: Everything you need to know about the 'Walls' singer

How to listen to heat radio:

If your favourite music icons are the Spice Girls and your favourite Ks are Kylie and the Kardashians, you need heat Radio in your life! heat Radio is portable, so you can listen to us on the move. Simply download our app from your phone’s app store, listen online at heatradio.com and at heatworld.com. We’re on all the smart speakers too, just say “play heat Radio".