Niall Horan Opens Up About Terrifying Fan Mobs After One Direction Success

He’s leading a relatively normal life now

Niall Horan found fame at just 16-years-old, after competing on The X Factor as a member of One Direction, the boyband that shot to fame following their third place finish on the hit tv singing competition.

After appearing on the show, the band experienced a meteoric rise to fame, achieving global success  with five studio albums and four world tours in five years.

Sadly this came at a price.

During an interview with Old Dugmore on the Unfiltered podcast, Niall confessed to becoming “a bit of a recluse” not knowing how to handle massive mobs of fans.

He also shared a particularly harrowing incident, when visiting a popular London shopping centre: “I remember one time I stupidly went to Westfield (shopping centre), in West London, and honestly, swear to God, I was like, ‘I’m going to die in here. I’m never getting out.”

The Mullingar man detailed: “There were periods where you’d go out and you wouldn’t get five yards outside the door.”

Universal Music

He continued on saying: “It was probably all in my head but I became a recluse because of the thought of going out, when I probably could have.”

Admitting that his fast rise to fame at such a young age made it hard to navigate life.

He explained: “There is a side of it where you’ve just come from zero to hero, the shock of it.”

Luckily Niall has found a balance and now lives a relatively normal life in London.

“Now I live the most normal life I could possibly live, I can go to the shops and buy my own dinner and just general stuff.”

“There was a period where if someone said, ‘Do you want to grab a coffee?’ or ‘Do you want to go for lunch?’ I’d have said absolutely not,” the 29-year-old confessed.

Of course, Niall will be back in the limelight again, following the release of his new album, The Show last Friday. The pop crooner is set to take to the stage on a festival run around Europe this summer including Ireland’s very own Electric Picnic before getting ready for his second world tour The Show Live on Tour which starts in Belfast February 2024.

• niall horan
• One Direction