Niall Horan: 1D success turned me into a recluse!

Niall Horan became a "recluse" when his fame with One Direction was at its peak and was left terrified at the thought of leaving the house.

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Niall Horan became scared to leave the house at the height of his fame with One Direction
Niall Horan became scared to leave the house at the height of his fame with One Direction

Niall Horan became a "recluse" at the height of his fame with One Direction.

The 29-year-old pop star shot to fame alongside Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, and Zayn Malik as part of the 'X Factor'-created group in 2010 and explained that in the following years when they became the world's first billion-dollar boy band, he ended up terrified to leave the house over the "shock" of it all.

He told The Sun newspaper's Bizarre column: "There were periods where you’d go out and you wouldn’t get five yards outside the door.

“I remember one time I stupidly went to Westfield (shopping mall), in West London, and honestly, swear to God, I was like, ‘I’m going to die in here. I’m never getting out’. It was the fear of that which kept me in.

“I probably became a bit of a recluse in 2012, 2013, 2014 . . . It was probably all in my head but I became a recluse because of the thought of going out, when I probably could have.

"There is a side of it where you’ve just come from zero to hero, the shock of it. It’s a shock to the system and you’re trying to live a normal life."

The 'Heaven' hitmaker has not performed with his bandmates since they went on hiatus in 2015 and even though he has pursued a successful career as a solo artist, admitted that these days he is able to run everyday errands in a way that was not possible during his days with One Direction.

He added: "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."