Louis Tomlinson shared how those Harry Styles dating rumors impacted their friendship

Their “ship name” was Larry Stylinson while they were both in One Direction, but now Louis Tomlinson has shared the impact these dating rumors had on his relationship with Harry Styles.

For the uninitiated, during their tenure on One Direction, fans of the band were convinced that Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson were secretly dating each other. Fans “shipped” the pair together, creating the moniker Larry Stylinson, and they wrote fan fiction and created fan art that often depicted the pair in romantic and sexual scenarios. Indeed, if you head to YouTube you’ll find a plethora of fan videos with “evidence” that the relationship was, in fact, real.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJmG0hdnWfk?feature=oembed

While it might seem like harmless fun from a devoted fan group, Larry Stylinson did actually have an impact on the bandmates’ lives.

Speaking to The Sun following the release of his latest solo single, “Back To You,” Louis said that there was “obviously no truth” in rumors about himself and Harry.

“I’ve never actually been asked about it directly,” Louis said after. “It’s a funny thing. People can believe what they want to believe, but I just think it comes across some times as a little bit disrespectful, to the ones that I love, like [my current girlfriend] Eleanor.”

Louis went on to say that, like many conspiracy theories, the story was baseless. However, unlike those theories, this one had a direct impact on his friendship with his former bandmate.

"I'm so protective over things like that, about the people I love. So it created this atmosphere between the two of us where everyone was looking into everything we did," he said. "It took away the vibe you get off anyone. It made everything a little bit more unapproachable. I think [what's happened since] shows that it was never anything 'real' if I can use that word."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HjpL-Ns6_A?feature=oembed

Back in 2012, Tomlinson actually took to Twitter to dispel the chatter around “Larry Stylinson,” calling the theory “the biggest load of bullshit I’ve ever heard.”

While much has been written about why One Direction fans shipped their favorite boybanders together, it’s clear that the rumors bother Tomlinson, and actually had a negative impact on his relationship with Styles.

Now that he’s addressed them head on, perhaps fans will be less zealous with their enthusiasm about the pair secretly dating.