Wait, what? Simon Cowell had some not-so-nice things to say about the early days of One Direction, but thankfully he has a pretty good explanation for it all. Click inside to READ!

Simon Cowell, 56, is more or less the adopted father of One Direction — and yes, that even includes the one who dearly departed from the group, Zayn Malik, 23. In a new cover interview with Billboard magazine, the music mogul and former X Factor judge revealed what working with the guys was like before they became the huge superstars they are today.

One Direction… a nightmare? Say it isn’t so! While discussing the very, very early days of 1D and the beginning stages of making them the world’s biggest boy band, their record exec, Simon Cowell, revealed it was a little bit of a process.

Simon admitted that One Direction was “a nightmare” to work with, but Billboard explains that he was “half-joking” when he said it. So, why were they so terrible, in his words? “They were like five puppies — really excited, loads of opinions, always wanted to hang out,” Simon explained, which, you have to admit, makes total sense!

After all, the five guys — Zayn, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, and Niall Horan — were barely of age when they signed to Syco as a group. In fact, Louis told the magazine he is not surprised at all by what Simon had to say.

“I’m sure we were a nightmare,” Louis told the magazine with a laugh. “We were at the height of our immaturity, always running around and being mischievous. There were so many meetings where Simon had to snap us to attention, but he was very patient.”

Aw! See, that sounds just like a proud stage dad, doesn’t it?

Tell us,  Are YOU surprised to hear that 1D was a nightmare when they first started out? Comment below with your thoughts!

by Lauren Cox for Hollywoodlife