It may have been five years since One Direction announced they were going on an indefinite hiatus (or splitting, in other words), but former bandmates Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson still haven’t been able to shake off those Larry Stylinson rumours.
Larry Stylinson, in case you haven’t heard, is the couple name given to Harry and Louis by fans who ship them and are convinced they’ve had a secret romantic relationship. It’s rather wild, tbh.
Of course, the rumours have died down in the half a decade since the band went their separate ways and Harry and Louis aren’t as close as they once were, having previously admitted that the Larry fan theories took a toll on their friendship.
Want to know more? Here’s the definitive guide to all things Larry Stylinson…
Who is Larry Stylinson?
Larry Stylinson is the couple name given to One Direction's Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson. It's also the theory that the bandmates are apparently together, in all sense of the word.
There are Tumblr accounts dedicated to their relationship, very detailed erotic fan fiction has been written and you can even get your hands on Larry merchandise.
Larries, as fans of the couple call themselves, have spent years compiling pictures, gifs and messages as evidence of Harry and Louis' everlasting love.
Let's have a look at what's out there…
Larry Stylinson 2016
The 1D boys have remained clients with Modest Management since their X Factor days and there have been YEARS of rumours of restrictions (Zayn couldn’t even grow a beard while he was in the band), rumours of relationship cover ups - Harry and Louis being one of ‘em - and behind-the-scenes angst.
But ever since the band announced their hiatus, everyone is expecting all the boys to break from Modest, which is something that Harry has already done - he signed with a new team very recently, breaking ALL ties with Modest.
Surely it’s only a matter of time before the other boys follow suit?
There's speculation that as soon as the boys are disentangled from Modest and their record label Syco, Harry and Louis will be able to go public with their relationship – something Larry shippers have been looking forward to for years.
When did the Larry Stylinson rumours start?
Well there’s been a LOT of chat around Harry and Louis' friendship for years, especially in the beginning of the band when the boys lived together in 'marital' bliss. Have a look for yourselves but try not to fall into the evidence lake, you’ll be on YouTube for DAYZ.
What do Larry Shippers believe?
THERE. ARE. SO. MANY. THEORIES. Here are the most shocking ones:
Yep, every single one of ‘em: Taylor Swift, Kendall Jenner, Danielle Campbell and especially Louis’ long-time love Eleanor Calder.
Some Larries have a huge vendetta against Eleanor and Louis, claiming their whole relationship was apparently one big FAKE lie from the get go.
These days, it's literally the case of another day, another theory about Louis and Briana Jungwirth’s baby boy Freddie Reign.
Ever since the kiddy was born, Larry Stylinson believers have blasted the whole thing as fake, questioned Louis' decision not to take a paternity test and branded Briana as purely just a surrogate mother for Harry and Louis. INTENSE.
There's even a mad theory that Freddie is actually a DOLL, not a real bubba.
A picture posted by Briana in April 2016 showed Freddie's feet splayed at what some Directioners thought was an awkward angle.
But other pics of Briana holding her baby boy make him look like... well, a completely normal baby.
Eagle-eyed Larry Shippers think there's a huge conspiracy story behind the rainbow coloured bears that sit at the side of the stage every night on One Direction's tour.
They've come to the conclusion that Louis and Harry are the ones behind it all, that the bears signify their unity as a couple. They are rainbow bears, after all.
Harry has even acknowleged the existence of the RBBs himself, saying the first bear appeared one night on stage and has been kept ever since as a sort of tour mascot.
"I believe it's a bear that was thrown on stage at one of our shows," he said.
"The crew kept it and they have it taped to the scaffolding. I believe that's what the Rainbow Bear is."
Hmmmm.
This tweet has been retweeted more times than any other EVER and Louis still hasn’t taken it down. This tweet is like the cement that glues each and every one of the Larry theories together. And it is quite cute.
What do Louis and Harry say of the Larry rumours?
Well they’ve always treated the theory as a bit of a joke, mostly not even acknowledging the idea that they could be more than friends. BUT there have been quite a few times where the rumours have wound them up the wrong way.
Of course, when celebrities don't discuss stories about themselves, it usually means they don't want to bring any more attention to the rumours.
Larries take this as proof Harry and Louis are somehow being pressured not to reveal their true feelings for each other - though it could be the case that any comments the lads make only add fuel to the fire, as everything they say gets taken waaaay out of context.
But in 2015, many Directioners noticed Harry and Louis were separated in most interviews and stopped interacting as much on stage. This obviously only made the Larry fan theories that the boys are being forced to stay closeted by their management team even more fervent.
However, following the end of the band, Louis finally spoke out about the Larry Stylinson rumours in 2017. He said, "I’ve never actually been asked about it directly. It’s a funny thing. It kind of happened naturally for me and Harry because a certain amount of the fans drew up this conspiracy."
"When it first came around I was with Eleanor, and it actually felt a little bit disrespectful to Eleanor, who is my girlfriend now. 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."
One Direction's comments about Larry Stylinson
So has anyone from inside the band ever commented on the Larry rumours? Well, since breaking free from the clutches of One Direction in March 2015, Zayn has been questioned on the matter a few times. He finally let rip in an interview with FADAR magazine, no holds barred:
“There’s no secret relationships going on with any of the band members. It’s not funny, and it still continues to be quite hard for them.
“They won’t naturally go put their arm around each other because they’re conscious of this thing going on, which is not even true. They won’t do that natural behaviour.”
Who believes in Larry?
Er, other than a BILLION people on Tumblr, Mumsnet are ALL OVER the idea of Larry and ship it HARD. So it’s probably worth asking ya mam if she’s a Larry.
Want to explore more? Here are some TIP TOP Larry Stylinson fans to follow:
LarryStylinsonOfficial: perfect if you want to be in the know about EVERY LITTLE DAMN THING.
The Larry Library: Literally heaven for all you Larry fanfic readers.
larrystylinson.com: AN ACTUAL WEBSITE.
Larry symbols, signs and phrases
Think you're a bit of a Larry but feel too shy to shout it from the rooftops just yet? Worry not: here's how to out yourself to fellow 'shippers.
Shipping Forecast - a code phrase that Larries sometimes use when speaking about Larry, say, on Facebook or in public.
'Dark' Larrie - people who ship the pairing really, really hard. AKA, people who think Larry is literally their life.
RBB – the aforementioned Rainbow Bondage Bear.
AIMH – an acronym of that iconic tweet.
Manips – The art of photoshopping the boys next to each other/in bed with each other/kissing each other. People are really rather talented at it, y’know.