Niall Horan believes he and his One Direction bandmates would have ended up "killing each other" if they carried on as a group.
One Direction
The 26-year-old Irish star says the boy band - also comprised of Harry Styles, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson - were "knackered" after releasing five albums over five years and touring the world relentlessly, and although they never had any "major bust-ups", he believes they would have come to blows eventually if they hadn't gone on an indefinite hiatus in 2016.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph newspaper, Niall admitted: "It was incredible. But we got tired. Not tired of it, just tired out. Five albums, five tours, in five years. We were all knackered. I can never really remember any major bust-ups, just brotherly family nagging, s****y arguments like that.
"But we were gonna end up killing each other.
"We all sat down one day, had a chat and it was like, we need to take a break. Step back, chill out and try something new."
The 'History' group also featured Zayn Malik, but he decided to leave the group in March 2015 to lead a "normal life".
And Niall has admitted he has no idea if the 'Pillowtalk' singer would want to reunite with the guys should the 'Drag Me Down' hitmakers decide to get back together some day in the future, but he is adamant there is no bad blood on his behalf.
He said: "There's no hard feelings. He's doing his own thing and I don't know what would happen with Zayn if the conversation came up to get the band back together."
The 'Flicker' hitmaker - who is gearing up for the release of his second solo album - can totally relate to the 26-year-old star wanting to lead a normal life but admits he still doesn't see himself as a "superstar".
He said: "There's a humble side to being Irish that is quite appealing.
"Of course, a humble person wouldn't say that! But I don't see myself as a superstar or anything like that."
These days Niall can get around town without worrying about being stopped by fans "every five seconds", but he admitted it was "frustrating being hidden away" during One Direction's heyday.
He said: "I can live a normal life. I'm a chilled-out fella but it was frustrating being hidden away. You had a fear of going out cos you'd get stopped every five seconds."
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