HE’S the One Direction star with a fortune thought to be worth £52million, but Niall Horan’s heart has been captured by a Brummie who works for a brewery.
The gorgeous , known as Mia to pals, has also won the approval of ‘s inner circle who are thrilled by the pair’s latest relationship development.
Niall for the couple to live a “quiet lifestyle”;; with their pet dog.
And while the 31-year-old tinkers away putting the finishing touches to his next album – almost certain to top the US charts like his previous three solo albums and see him set off on another sell-out world tour – Mia works day to day as an international sales and marketing manager for the Forest Road Brewery Company.
They may seem worlds apart, but two years ago, the popular Irish singer-songwriter proudly confirmed he was “madly in love”;; after penning a string of romantic hits about Mia – though he admitted she felt “taken aback”;; at becoming his muse.
It was Mia’s normal job that first endeared her to Niall’s family, firmly rooted in Mulligner, , when he first took her home to meet them in 2021, after the couple started dating during .
Niall’s mum Maura said she was “very impressed”;; by Mia and particularly thrilled that she was not in show business.
“She’s a lovely girl,”;; cooed proud Maura at the time. “She’s from England and she’s not in the business so that’s a good one!
“She’s met Mammy Maura, and Mammy Maura is very impressed! She’s also met Nanny Margaret, sat in the kitchen.”;;
While Mia, 27, may be able to settle into quiet, comfortable, family life with ease with Niall, she is a high-flyer in her field, having studied fashion business at ’s Istituto Marangoni before going on to work for high-end designers including Nicholas Kirkwood, Dior and Chloé.
But it is understandable that Niall’s mum might prefer a non-showbiz girlfriend.
He has had a string of high profile relationships, and experienced the negatives that come with dating celebrities, including an .
When he and actress and singer broke up after a year of dating, she wrote a track titled Wrong Direction, , which fans were convinced was about Niall, though she has never confirmed it.
Niall also went on , resulting in writing the messy track Don’t about an apparent love triangle between the trio. Though despite the headlines – and chart-topping singles – all three remain good friends.
So it is no surprise that Niall intends to carry on “keeping that stuff quiet”;; about his relationship with Mia – even if he quite literally wants to sing about it.
Having documented former heartaches, he says writing love songs is a natural next step.
“When there’s no heartbreak [to write about], you have to come up with a different concept,”;; he said of his charmingly upbeat 2023 album The Show, which took Mia by surprise.
“She’s like, taken aback, I suppose,”;; admitted Niall. “It’s nice to be able to write happier stuff.”;;
He professes that keeping his relationship out of the limelight gives his songwriting integrity – avoiding fans engaging in -style decoding of his lyrics.
“There’d be all these theories, and I’m not in town for that. I’m here to write what’s on my brain, and love happens to be one of those things that’s flying around me,”;;Niall added.
There could be more happy tracks in the making at the moment, as Niall and Mia enjoy an idyllic life in a leafy, London suburb close to his A-list pals.
A source said: “Niall loves travelling and touring but this is him really laying down his roots with his new home with Mia.”;;
, and were first seen publicly together during the brief lifting of Covid restrictions before making their public debut at the red carpet for his Horan & Rose Gala in September 2021.
‘Laying down roots’
Having spent their lockdowns together, they bonded quickly – and though they admitted to getting terribly bored, unable to globe-trot as they were accustomed – Niall recalls it being the lengthiest period of time off since he joined aged just 16.
“I’ve never been fitter in my life because I was cycling 80 or 90 miles around Richmond Park every week,”;; he said at the time.
That passion for fitness, including lockdown gym sessions, certainly showed results, with a new bulked up frame to match his new, mature look, having ditched the bleached blonde crop.
As Niall blossomed, so did his relationship with Amelia, and he could not wait to bring her home to meet his whole family in Mullinger, a market town 50-miles west of Dublin, as soon as restrictions lifted.
The source added: “All of Niall’s loved ones have totally embraced Amelia, they can see how happy she makes him. She is part of the family.”;;
Niall has always been desperate to have a brood of his own, saying in 2019: “I would love kids and a family life.”;;
It could be that we see the star setting his sights on starting a family sooner rather than later.
The last year in particular has seen the astronomic highs of Niall’s 87-night solo The Show tour, which culminated in a gig in Bogota, , where he informed fans he would now “disappear for a while”;; to enjoy suburban bliss, teasing of his planned retreat from the public eye: “You’ll never find me.”;;
Utterly heartbroken
The final gig in Bogata should have been the last we saw of Niall publicly for a while.
But days after his tour wrapped, his former One Direction bandmate – who had travelled to Argentina to watch his close friend on October 2nd –
Niall was left
“I feel so fortunate that I got to see him recently,”;; he said at the time. “I sadly didn’t know that after saying goodbye and hugging him that evening, I would be saying goodbye forever. It’s heartbreaking.”;;
Amelia stood firmly by his side at in Amersham, Buckinghamshire in November last year. It was the first time the members of One Direction had been together in a decade, in unthinkable circumstances.
In the months following the tragedy there was speculation the boys might reunite again, this time to
But the four ruled out a “big, showy tribute”;;, instead quietly returning to their own lives and solo careers.
Family support
It can be difficult to launch a solo career after achieving such unimaginable fame as one fifth of the world’s most famous boyband, yet Niall’s releases have topped charts in the UK, in Ireland and around the world.
And he admits he feels at ease in front of big crowds: “The bigger the venue, the better the show,”;; he says, confidently.
He puts this remarkable ability to cope with fame down to his humble upbringing, and returns home seven or eight times a year to visit his tight knit family, though he admits he can no longer “just pull up out outside the chip shop, run in and get the chips, then run back to the car”;;.
Mum Maura worked in a pewter company, which produced clocks, while dad Bobby was a butcher in for 35 years – and still won’t accept a penny from his son. With immense pride, Bobby has commended Niall for “the way he held his head”;; in the showbiz spotlight.
“I am more proud of that than anything he has done,”;; he has said.
Niall used golf to “escape the madness”;; at the height of One Direction’s popularity, and is the only member of the group to have steered entirely away from drugs.
, says he enjoys weed and was filmed smoking a suspicious looking cigarette with bandmate in Peru. Prior to his death, Liam Payne had
But Niall said in 2019: “I don’t have a wild streak. I am known as the vanilla man... I like my sport and a few beers with my mates.”;;
It is also the support of his parents, who split when he was five, that has helped him remain so humble.
Speaking in 2013, Niall laughed that if anything, his family were unimpressed by his wealth, despite his attempts at generosity.
“I paid off my mum’s mortgage and brought her a car – things I knew she needed – but I don’t buy extravagant gifts all the time,”;; he said.
“I tried to give some money to my dad but he wouldn’t take it. He’ll barely take a Christmas present off of me. I want to do up the house he lives in but at the same time I don’t want to be the idiot who walks in and throws money around.”;;
Amelia is also from a close family, who Niall clearly adores – he wrote his track Never Grow Up about her parents, who are “still madly in love”;;, and in his lyrics, Niall says he longs for him and Mia to retain their love too: “Hope we still drink like we’re back in the pub / Hope we grow old, but we never grow up.”;;
Unimpressed by wealth
He also admits the track was inspired by his parents’ divorce.
“When you’ve seen it crumble so many times in front of you — not just even within my family — you’re just, like, ‘I’d prefer not to have that if I can stop it.’ I’d prefer to not see it crumble.”;;
In his most direct track about their relationship, You Could Start A Cult, he combined their love of watching true crime series together with a metaphor for their love.
It is, he insists, a “love song, effectively”;;, albeit unconventional, explaining: “It’s about... not the desperation feeling, but the ‘I think you’re the best f***ing thing in the world’ feeling.
“And if you started a cult, I’d follow you into the fire.”;;
His upcoming album is likely to include much more of the “happier stuff”;; he loves writing about.
