Simon Cowell shares his 'one regret' with One Direction after admitting he thinks they 'will never reunite'

Like many 'Directioners' over the last decade, I've long held out hope that we'll one day see Harry, Louis, Niall, Liam and Zayn back where they belong - performing side-by-side on a reunion tour, belting out the unashamedly cringe-worthy lyrics to 'Steal My Girl'.

Tragically, however, the former members of One Direction have given no indication that they'll end their hiatus - which broke the hearts of countless fans back in 2015.

And among those to have been left devastated by their split, was their ex-manager Simon Cowell, who signed the band following their X Factor success back in 2010.

Simon Cowell signed One Direction in 2010. (Dave Hogan/Getty Images)

In their years after they signed a contract with his international firm Syco, the teenage heartthrobs became the first boy band in US chart history to record two No. 1 albums in the same calendar year.

It's no surprise, therefore, that music producing mogul Simon has admitted he has one colossal regret about the way the group disbanded.

Appearing on Dragon's Den star Steven Bartlett's popular podcast The Diary Of A CEO, a now 64-year-old Simon confessed he wishes he maintained the right to the group's name, claiming he'd have been able to continue profiting off that alone.

"The one thing I regret is, I should have kept the name," he admitted.

Steven then asks him: "Who owns the name?"

To which Simon replied: "They do."

Simon claims he regrets not maintaining One Direction's name. (Diary of a CEO/Steven Bartlett)

He continued: "That’s the problem. Could have made an animation, or whatever, but when you give an artist the name, it’s not yours - and that’s my only regret."

Then, speaking directly to the ex-band, he teased: "If you’re listening, I’ll buy it back from you."

Also, being that the former boyband has joint ownership of their moniker, Simon explained that they all must agree on how it is used.

"If one of the band members, for whatever reason, says they don’t want to tour, it can stop the others touring," he told listeners.

"If it was me who owned the name, it wouldn’t be a problem. I can be very naive at times, and that was me being very, very naive.

"So next time, that will be part of the deal - I have to own the name."

Elsewhere in the podcast, when asked if he thought the band would ever reunite, Simon confessed: "I doubt it."

Harry Styles has gone on to become the band's most commercially successful member. (Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)

Each of the five members of One Direction attempted to relaunch a solo career in the years that followed.

Niall Horan achieved moderate success when two of his solo singles reached the top twenty in several countries, and Liam Payne's 2017 hit 'Strip That Down' peaked a No. 3 in the UK charts.

Despite releasing two studio albums - the second of which temporarily reached the No. 1 spot in the UK - Louis Tomlinson subsequently received more praise for his 2023 'music-journey' documentary All of Those Voices.

And though Zayn Malik became the first British male artist to debut at No. 1 in both the UK and US with his first solo single and album, he seems to have quietened down in recent years.

When it comes to Harry Styles, however - the most commercially successful of the band - it doesn't appear as though he plans to slow down anytime soon, already having bagged six Brit awards, and three Grammys.