It all started on July 23, 2010.
Five boys auditioned for the X Factor, only to be cut off before going to judges' houses. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, Simon Cowell decided to put the five together to form a boyband. Thus, began One Direction.
They quickly gained stardom across the world thanks to social media, and even though they didn't win the X Factor, they became the most successful boyband of our time. From small arenas across the UK and the US to worldwide, sold-out stadium tours, One Direction became a household name.
However, March 25, 2015 rolled around and we received news that Zayn Malik had quit the band. This sparked rumors that the band would be splitting up, but the other four (Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne and Niall Horan) weren't going to let this drag them down, pun intended.
Midway through their On The Road Again tour, fans eagerly awaited some sign that our favorite boys were sticking together despite Zayn's departure. On July 31, 2015, without any prior promotion or announcements, Liam tweeted out the link to listen to their first song as a foursome, Drag Me Down.
And then it all went downhill.
On August 23, 2016, the boys announced an 18-month long hiatus starting in March of 2016. Of course, previous boybands who have announced "hiatuses" have not come back together. What started as a hiatus to take a break from music and see their friends and family, quickly became a chance for the boys to start solo careers.
Harry Styles will be starring in "Dunkirk," set to be released in July of 2017, alongside Tom Hardy (which, swoon, right?) and has also signed a solo recording contract. Oh and let us not forget that he also modeled for Another Man magazine.
Niall Horan also signed a solo recording contract and, surprisingly, was the first of the four to release a solo single. Not so surprisingly, it reached the top of the charts in a matter of hours.
Liam Payne has also signed a recording contract, but has been in the spotlight most recently due to his relationship with singer and X Factor judge, Cheryl Ann Fernandez-Versini (formerly Cheryl Cole), who has been speculated to be pregnant.
Louis Tomlinson has maintained a quiet life with his son and girlfriend, Danielle Campbell. We're still waiting on that solo contract, though.
And in case you're wondering, Zayn released his first solo album "Mind of Mine" on, you guessed it, March 25, 2016. He also just released his book, "Zayn," and is in the process of producing a tv show about boybands on NBC.
Even though the situation is looking rather dim, I hope you're still holding onto the hope that the four boys (because let's face it, Zayn's out for good) will reunite. Both Niall and Harry have backed this up in interviews, Harry saying that he "would never rule that out" and Niall saying that he can't wait to tour their latest album, "Made In The A.M." I don't know about you, but I'd rather believe that they won't become the next *NSYNC and just forget about us Directioners.
