Ellie Goulding Says Rumors She Cheated on Ed Sheeran with Niall Horan Caused Her 'a Lot of Trauma'

Ellie Goulding is opening up about the trauma she experienced from the rumors that she cheated on Ed Sheeran with Niall Horan.

The "Love Me Like You Do" singer, 36, shared with Daily Mail on Sunday the damage she faced from the false cheating rumors — when she never even dated the "Shape of You" musician.

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

In 2014, Sheeran made headlines when tabloids reported that his song "Don't" was inspired by Goulding — and fans believed that she cheated on the British star with Horan, 29, then a member of One Direction.

"I envy the fact that my friends just 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," she said. "I was made to feel like a terrible person and I really struggled with that because I know I'm not."

Recently, Goulding shared a TikTok of herself dressed up in a black jumpsuit as she danced along to Harry Styles' "As It Was." In the comments section, a TikTok user wrote, "Can't believe u cheated on Ed with Niall, but slay fr (for real)."

Goulding then shut down the statement by writing back, "False!!!!! But also slay." She admitted to Daily Mail that "I was really drunk when I wrote that."

According to the outlet, Goulding believes the incident negatively impacted her career, as she took a five-year hiatus. She released Brightest Blue in 2020 after dropping her previous studio album Delirium in 2015.

"I can laugh about it now but it changed things for me," she said. "I became kind of reclusive. I didn't want to perform. 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."

While the rest of the world might have the situation all wrong, Goulding revealed that she and Sheeran are on good terms. "It is in the past and we're friends. We're adults," she said.

During an interview with ELLE UK in July 2015, she addressed the rumor regarding Sheeran, 32, when word first started circulating.

"I did go on a few dates with Niall, but I was never in a relationship with Ed," she explained. "I have absolutely no idea where that came from and why it was turned into such a big thing."

Meanwhile, in 2016, she opened up about her relationships with both musicians during a cover story interview with Seventeen.

On Horan, 29, Goulding said: "We're still friends. We went on a few dates, and it was really fun. He's a really, really lovely guy. He's got the biggest sense of humor, he's very caring, and I see him as a genuine friend in the industry."

Goulding said her 2015 song "On My Mind" is not about Sheeran.

"We've known each other for a few years. I think he's a really nice guy and a brilliant musician. We've bumped into each other and we've hung out and stuff, but the thing is if I hang out with someone, it's instantly like I'm dating them," she said. "We were never in a relationship."

Goulding married Caspar Jopling in 2019 and welcomed their first baby, son Arthur, in April 2021. Meanwhile, Sheeran married his longtime girlfriend Cherry Seaborn in December 2018. The couple welcomed their first daughter, Lyra Antarctica, in August 2020 and their second daughter — whose name he's yet to reveal — in May 2022.