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Louis Tomlinson was part of One Direction from 2010 up until their hiatus in 2015. It makes sense that along the way, he fostered bonds with the other members of the band. They worked long hours, toured the world together, and created art through music on five albums. Tomlinson spoke about his strong connection with one specific band member in an interview.

Louis Tomlinson with his bandmates in One Direction smiling
One Direction | Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Clear Channel

Louis Tomlinson joined One Direction in 2010 on ‘The X Factor’

Tomlinson joined the band in 2010 after impressing all of the judges on The X Factor. Despite auditioning as a solo artist, Simon Cowell grouped Tomlinson with Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan, and Zayn Malik.

The group competed on the reality television show week by week, and they grew closer together. The band members chronicled their journey together on “video diaries” which featured the boys’ off-show antics while they weren’t performing. Fans loved seeing the relationships develop among the boys in One Direction.

In an interview, Tomlinson described his connection with one of the boys that actually started off a little rocky at first then grew into a strong bond.

He spoke on a ‘strong connection’ with this One Direction member

Tomlinson appeared on The Zach Sang Show in November 2019 was asked why he had such a “strong connection” with Payne.

“We didn’t see eye-to-eye at first, which was funny,” Tomlinson explained. “I could always have a laugh with him. Liam don’t take himself too seriously, do you know what I mean? I could always have a proper laugh with him.”

Fans loved Tomlinson and Payne’s interactions in the band. They affectionally dubbed the duo “LiLo,” for Liam and Louis.

“He’s just a good lad, he’s just a good guy. Easy to hang around with. They all are though, to be honest. All lads — most of them.”

Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne have stayed in touch over the years

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Even though the pair have been on their own solo career paths after One Direction’s hiatus, they’ve still stayed in touch.

Tomlinson popped into Payne’s Instagram Live in October 2020, per Capital FM. Payne laughed as Tomlinson commented “watch your mouth” after Payne joked about times they had together in One Direction. Payne invited Tomlinson to join the video, but the oldest member declined. Still, it was a fun moment for fans to enjoy the two’s friendship in action.

While the pair have seemed to stay in touch, rumors have continued to swirl about One Direction’s possible reunion. A recent fan theory on TikTok suggested that they’re already making music again together, per an Instagram gallery of Horan’s.

However, the boys have yet to confirm any sort of reunion. Tomlinson released his first solo album Walls in January 2020 and his tour was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic. Hopefully for fans, he can be back out there performing his music when it’s safe to do so again.

Until then, fans can maybe look forward to more of Tomlinson trolling Payne in his Instagram Live comments.