Ellie Goulding Says Ed Sheeran Cheating Rumors Were Traumatic

In a new interview with Daily Mail, the singer opened up about a piece of gossip that has haunted her for nearly 10 years: whether or not she cheated on former One Direction member Niall Horan with Ed Sheeran.

When probed about the supposed tryst, she told the outlet: "It's fascinating how many people are interested in that. It happened nine years ago. You know, completely honestly, it caused me a lot of trauma, actually."

Goulding explained that she had “envy” for friends that “spent their 20s having flings and one-night stands and what every 20-something goes through in private. But every single thing I did was written about." Because of the speculation, Goulding says she "was made to feel like a terrible person and I really struggled with that because I know I'm not."

Related | Ellie Goulding on Claims She Cheated on Ed Sheeran With Niall Horan

In a recent TikTok video, Goulding responded to a commenter who wrote, "Can't believe u cheated on Ed with Niall, but slay fr (for real)." Her response was simple and effective: “False!!!!! But also slay."

In reference to her hilarious response, Goulding told Daily Mail, “I was really drunk when I wrote that."

She also claimed that the double standard applied to her temporarily derailed her career, which resulted in a five-year hiatus from 2015 to 2020. "That's why I wrote that comment, because every day I get comments about this stupid teenage situation. It was nothing and it was private – and it caused me such a huge amount of grief and I resent it."

Goulding and Horan were first photographed together at the V Festival in August 2013. A week later, eagle-eyed paps spotted her in the audience at the MTV Video Music Awards holding hands with Ed Sheeran.

A year later, Sheeran dropped "Don’t," which fans and tabloids claimed was inspired by Goulding, who had allegedly cheated with him on Horan. In a tweet at the time, she wrote off the ensuing media chaos. "I love that holding hands with my friends means we're an item." Sheeran, meanwhile, played coy with the rumors.

In a 2015 Elleinterview, Goulding explained herself further. "I did go on a few dates with Niall [Horan] but I was never in a relationship with Ed [Sheeran]. I have absolutely no idea where that came from and why it was turned into such a big thing.” Poignantly, she added, "I find it so frustrating that female musicians are constantly defined by the men they have or haven’t dated."

Photo via Getty/ Dave J. Hogan