Camila Cabello Said She Auditioned For The X Factor To “Marry” Harry Styles

Camila Cabello spilled so many juicy secrets while appearing on The Late Late Show With James Corden on April 18, including the real reason she auditioned for The X Factor in 2012. Surprisingly, Harry Styles played a huge part.

The singer appeared on the show to promote her third studio album, Familia, which just dropped on April 8. She joined Corden for his famous Carpool Karaoke segment, during which the two drove around Los Angeles and talked about Cabello’s rise to fame.

Corden asked why she auditioned for The X Factor, and Cabello said that she initially wasn’t sure whether or not to audition for The Voice or The X Factor. While trying to decide, she thought of Styles, an X Factor alum. He appeared on the original U.K. version of the show in 2010 where he and his bandmates first formed One Direction.

“I was 15. I was like a huge One Direction fan,” Cabello said in the video. “Well, One Direction will be at X Factor. I don’t know if they will be at The Voice, so let me audition for X Factor.”

Cabello told Corden this was the first time she’s ever “confessed the real intention” on why she auditioned for the show. “This is really embarrassing, and I can only say this because obviously, that was like 10 years ago, but I literally was like, ‘I’m auditioning for X Factor because I will marry Harry Styles.’ Like I will,” she said. “Yeah, I really believed that at the time.”

When Corden asked if she really believed she’d marry the One Direction singer, Cabello clarified marriage wasn’t the ultimate goal. “I’m gonna audition for X Factor. We’re gonna met. I’m gonna become a singer, and we’ll probably fall in love,” she says she believed at the time.

The decision to auditioned worked out for Cabello. While she didn’t end up marrying Styles, she was placed in the girl group Fifth Harmony. Their success is, of course, major. Cabello even told Corden she felt “great” about joining a group because the same thing happened to One Direction.

I’m happy she took the leap of faith. Between her Fifth Harmony days, first two solo albums, and now Familia, Cabello has more than proven she’s always been a star.