'Burn' sensation Ellie Goulding has spoken out about dating One Direction's Niall Horan in the past and described him as one of the most genuine people she's had the pleasure of meeting in the music industry.

Speaking to Seventeen magazine, the beauty explained that she remains friends with Horan despite the fact that nothing worked out between them romantically:

"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 humour, he's very caring, and I see him as a genuine friend in the industry."

Yesterday (March 10), news broke that Goulding would be bowing out of music for a while to focus on herself and she took to Twitter last night to reassure fans that it will only be a temporary hiatus: "I am not quitting music, I've come too far for that! Just having a break. It's been seven years since I had time off.... Love you all."

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Watch Goulding in action here: