One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson: Why Has He Lost His Sparkle?

The Louis Tomlinson loved by One Direction fans seems to have disappeared. The Tomlinson adored by fans has a spring in his step, is quick to smile, and has a twinkle in his blue eyes. This Louis Tomlinson is a shade of his former self. He has been replaced by a young man who seems to have the weight of the world on his shoulders. No one would deny that adapting to fatherhood is a challenge and can surely be exhausting, but this Tomlinson showed up pretty quickly after Louis and his bandmates made their last public appearance together back in December.

Let’s think for a moment about Tomlinson’s life. If the press reports are correct, then Louis has a new girlfriend in Danielle Campbell, a new son in Freddie Tomlinson, he is on a break after four years of life on the road, and he has an extremely healthy bank balance to tide him over. On the face of it, Tomlinson should be on top of the world right now. Of course, none of those things mean much if you are not happy, and Louis looks like a man who lost a dollar and found a penny.

Fans started to worry about Tomlinson when pictures of him and Danielle Campbell emerged just before new year. As reported by the Inquisitr at the time, Louis looked pale, drawn, and frankly unwell. It may have been the season to be jolly, but the Christmas spirit seemed to have by-passed Louis.

After a skiing vacation in the French Alps, Tomlinson returned to L.A., and we were treated to numerous images of Louis and Danielle popping out to a store to buy beer. As the pictures in the Twitter message below, Louis looks anything but happy as he returns to his car.

Louis Tomlinson and Danielle grocery shopping in LA on (1/15/16) – #4 pic.twitter.com/v2CEm3z6Oa

— 1D Metro PH ?? (@1DMetro) January 18, 2016

The day after Freddie Tomlinson was born, Louis celebrated with a visit to Sunglass Hut. Tomlinson looked anything but a happy new dad as he endured the walk to the store while having a video camera shoved in his face by TMZ.

Over the past couple of weeks, Louis has been spotted on a couple of occasions strolling around Calabasas pushing Freddies stroller. According to the Daily Mail Tomlinson was spotted yesterday in a local park, and once again, he looked less than happy at being photographed. Of course, it has been a tough few weeks for Tomlinson. Louis has been under non-stop attack by some sections of the media for months, and over the past week, ongoing rumors about Tomlinson’s son hit the mainstream media.

As reported in the Mirror, both Tomlinson and baby mama Briana Jungwirth shared pictures of Freddie online this week, presumably as a counter to the rumors that Louis’ son is a PR stunt. The rumors surrounding the story that Tomlinson fans dubbed “babygate” have been extensively reported here on the Inquisitr, but here is a brief recap.

Many of Louis fans have believed from the very beginning that the Tomlinson baby story is the latest attempt by One Direction’s management team to keep Louis and Harry Styles closeted. You may be tempted to scoff at fans, but that would be a mistake. The whole story has been handled disastrously by Louis’ team. Tomlinson himself has refused to discuss the matter, and Jungwirth’s family have acted in a bizarre way for many months.

It is hard to believe that Tomlinson’s team would go to such extreme lengths to keep Louis and Harry closeted, and yet it is equally hard to believe that the story was handled so badly by a team that Tomlinson pays to handle his image. We know that Tomlinson’s family are aware of the controversy, and his sister has lashed out at fans a number of times. Yet, Louis remains resolutely silent.

Tomlinson must know that the occasional walk with a stroller for the paparazzi will only serve to ignite more rumors and conspiracy theories. It may be that Tomlinson has come to realize that at this stage, nothing will overcome fan suspicion. Louis has backed himself into a corner of his own making, and it must look to him that he is in a no-win situation.

That may well explain why Louis has seemingly lost his sparkle. Of course, it would be understandable that Tomlinson looked less than happy when he is being stalked by the paparazzi, but that wouldn’t explain why he looks so unhappy in the pictures he shares of himself on social media.

[Photo by John Davisson/Invision/AP Images]