Harry Styles sparks One Direction fan frenzy with swiftly-deleted Instagram story

Auckland, New Zealand- Harry Styles sent fans into a frenzy after posting, then promptly deleting, a photo of himself paying homage to his boy band days.

Harry Styles posted a photo of himself wearing a One Direction tour shirt before promptly deleting it.
Harry Styles posted a photo of himself wearing a One Direction tour shirt before promptly deleting it.  © Collage: Robyn BECK / AFP & Screenshot/Instagram/@harrystyles

Harry Styles wearing One Direction merch certainly wasn't on our 2023 bingo card.

The 29-year-old shared a mirror selfie from the gym wearing a t-shirt from his former band's 2012 Up All Night Tour.

The story was deleted almost instantly.

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Of course, many of his 48 million followers were quick to snag a screenshot before it disappeared.

Styles' photo was then plastered over social media on Sunday night as fans gushed over the deleted image.

"no bc this picture of harry styles in 2023 wearing a one direction t-shirt is about to break the internet, wtf is happening," one fan said.

Was Harry Style's too much of a coincidence?

Many speculate that the Watermelon Sugar singer may have a close friends list on Instagram and accidentally selected his main story rather than close friends when posting.

But with as big a following as Styles has, it's hard to imagine it was a genuine accident.

The post comes amid a flood of fan theories about a potential One Direction reunion on Niall Horan's upcoming third album, The Show.

The 29-year-old has denied rumors of working with Styles once again, but fans are certainly regaining hope after the Instagram story debacle.

Styles also paid tribute to his former bandmates at last month's BRIT Awards, where he thanked each of them by name in his acceptance speech for Album of the Year.

Cover photo: Collage: Robyn BECK / AFP & Screenshot/Instagram/@harrystyles

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