Inside One Direction’s ‘downfall’: Claims of “massive divide” between “little s**t” Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles, ‘only Louis and Liam Payne remain friends’

One Direction have long claimed they’re taking a break from the band to pursue solo projects and enjoy life outside of the group’s bubble.

But new reports suggest there’s much more to the hiatus, with sources close to the boys insisting they’ll be splitting for a long time.

It’s claimed the cracks started to show after Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles, who were once seen as such good pals they were lovingly dubbed Larry Stylinson by fans, fell out long ago in 2012 when the fivesome moved out of the home they shared together, with Liam Payne and Louis being the only good friends remaining in the band.

A source told The Sun: “Everyone involved in the band is well aware of the animosity between them. It’s been central to everything that came next with the band because there was suddenly a massive divide...

“Liam and Louis are the only real friends left in the band. Niall [Horan] likes everyone as that’s part of his happy-go-lucky persona.”

The apparent tension between the boys even reportedly led to Harry wanting to travel on separate private jets from the others, although it is claimed he didn’t like the fact Liam, Louis and former member Zayn Malik smoked on the planes.

The boys are said to have not even worked together in the studio for the recording of their last three albums.

The insider said: “That’s quite an extraordinary situation, but their team knew the less time Harry and Louis had to spend together, the better the chances 1D would stay together.”

It’s claimed Louis made some bad choices for the band which may have contributed to the reported fall-out.

A source told the paper: “Frankly, Louis is a little s**t who’s managed to annoy a lot of people over the last couple of years. He’s made some ridiculous decisions, like refusing to let 1D perform at the Brit Awards because they wanted more time off.”

However, the boys may have been using their spare time to plan for their future – Louis has launched his own record label with the help of Simon Cowell’s company Syco.

Harry is also widely tipped to be the most successful solo star and is often seen socialising with his many celebrity pals outside of the band.

In addition, it’s no secret some of the boys have struggled in certain ways since their rise to fame, with Liam admitting he once went through a “pretty bad” phase when he was partying hard, and Zayn left the band in March claiming he wanted a normal life, which apparently left Louis seething.

And earlier this month, many disappointed and concerned 1D fans questioned exactly what was going on when the group cancelled a gig with just minutes to spare due to Liam suddenly being struck down with a mystery illness.

Soon after, video footage from another concert emerged in which Liam appeared to shove Louis on-stage after becoming annoyed but Louis insisted it was just “a joke”.

It is currently unknown how long the band’s break will last but the source claims it may be dependent on how successful the boys are individually.

They said: “These days no band wants to officially split up because it costs them commercially. By going on a break they’ll still be able to keep selling merchandise.”

In an effort to comfort fans after the reports emerged, Niall tweeted on Friday: “Don’t believe everything you are reading. We stand strong as a band and we’re brothers, can’t wait for you to hear what we’ve been working on.

“Thank you for all the continuous love and support.”

A representative for the band told heatworld: “It’s a shame that some sections of the media love to build people up and then they love to knock them down.

“One Direction have sold 8.2 million tour tickets and over 65 million records worldwide. Their new single Perfect has already hit No.1 on iTunes in over 60 countries and is set to be one of their biggest hits ever.

“We should be celebrating their amazing worldwide success as a band that has developed out of the UK, and the phenomenal things they have achieved, and will continue to achieve in the future.”

GALLERY: One Direction - then and now