Harry Styles says he used to feel 'ashamed' over fans 'knowing that I was having sex, let alone who with'

• Harry Styles told Better Homes and Gardens he used to feel "ashamed" fans knew he was sexually active.
• He said he was "ashamed at the idea of people even knowing that I was having sex, let alone who with."

Harry Styles said he used to feel "ashamed" that fans were aware he was sexually active.

"For a long time, it felt like the only thing that was mine was my sex life," Styles, 28, said in a new interview with Better Homes and Gardens. "I felt so ashamed about it, ashamed at the idea of people even knowing that I was having sex, let alone who with."

Styles rose to fame as one-fifth of the British-Irish boy band One Direction.

The band — comprised of Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, and Louis Tomlinson — was formed on season seven of the UK reality competition show "The X Factor."

As the group became a global sensation, interview questions became more invasive and personal. A controversial cover story for the September 2013 issue of British GQ, in particular, famously infuriated fans.

Aside from Styles' solo cover including the phrase "He's up all night to get lucky," the actual interview prodded into the musician's sexuality and amount of people he's slept with.

Interviewer Jonathan Heaf asked Styles to reveal the specific number of people he's had sex with, with the singer eventually saying: "I've only ever had sex with two people."

In the years since the band announced their indefinite hiatus in 2015, Styles has turned his attention to solo music and an acting career.

His two solo albums released so far, "Harry Styles" (2017) and "Fine Line" (2019) have both been inspired by personal subject matter, like his romantic relationships.

Styles told Rolling Stone that the latter album is "all about having sex and feeling sad."

And during a concert, he confirmed that his hit song "Watermelon Sugar" is about "the sweetness of life" and "the female orgasm."

Reflecting on his journey from boy-band member to mature artist, Styles told Better Homes and Gardens that "At the time, there were still the kiss-and-tell things. Working out who I could trust was stressful."

"But I think I got to a place where I was like, why do I feel ashamed? I'm a 26-year-old man who's single; it's like, yes, I have sex," the "As It Was" singer said.

Styles told the publication that he's reflected on his desire to be likable during conversations with his therapist.

He said that it's rooted in his time in One Direction, and feeling like he had to share personal details about himself "to get people to engage with you, to like you." If he didn't provide a satisfactory answer during interviews or angered someone with his response, he felt as though he was in the wrong.

Styles shared similar comments about sex during a 2019 interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music, saying: "The thing with sex is it used to feel so much more taboo."

"Even when we were in the band, the thought of people thinking that I had sex was like, 'Oh no, that's crazy, what if they know?'" Styles said.