London, Sep 18 (IANS): One Direction band member Niall Horan has reportedly rekindled his romance with ex-girlfriend Zoe Whelan.

Horan ended his brief romance with the Irish model in July and was recently linked to singer Ellie Goulding. But it is said that the singer has secretly reunited with his former love, reports contactmusic.com.

"Niall wants everything kept completely under the radar as he feels they simply won't survive if they're being watched. But the truth is, he's mad about her and when he's in Ireland they're spending almost every second together," a source told Heat magazine.

Horan had even invited Whelan as his date to his brother Greg's wedding in March. But the relationship crumbled under the strain of his band's busy "Take Me Home" world tour earlier this year.

However, Whelan, who is based out in Ireland, has been travelling a lot to meet the singer.

"She's flown out on four different occasions to meet him over in London and be close to him. Although they would prefer to keep the relationship quiet, they actually get to hook up together a lot more than you'd think and Zoe is a regular face backstage at their gigs," the source said.