Simon Cowell Says 1D's Break Is Necessary: ''Having a an Off Is Going to Be a Healthy Thing'' 

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Simon Cowell Says One Direction\'s Break Is Necessary: \'\'Having a Year Off Is Going to Be a Healthy Thing\'\'

by Bruna Nessif Thu., Aug. 27, 2015 6:25 PM PDT

Fans may not be too happy about One Direction\'s break, but boss Simon Cowell insists it\'s going to be a good thing.

judge, who was the mastermind behind putting these guys together, revealed that he\'d known this break was coming for a while, but has high hopes that it will have a positive outcome.

"I\'ve known for a while that they were going to take this year off. They had to because of their workload," Simon told the press at the

"I did what I\'ve always done with the guys and said you make your own decisions and I hope you stay together, but you\'ve got to want to do it yourself so they\'re smart guys, they\'ll work it out."

And like the rest of us, Cowell hopes that the guys reunite after their time away from the spotlight, but he\'s not going to be the one pressuring them to do so.

"I hope so, but like I said, it\'s not going to be because of any pressure from me," he explained. "It really has to be, like we said in the beginning, this is an opportunity, you won it, and I\'ve always had that attitude with them. They\'re nice guys and they\'re loyal so it\'ll be fine."

He added that the success surrounding the guys can be very overwhelming. "Look, even though they\'re young, that is a gruelling schedule and after a while I could see they were exhausted, so when they said, \'How do you feel about it?\' I said, \'Do whatever you want.\' Having a year off is going to be a healthy thing."

1D announced over the weekend that they\'ve decided to embark on an extended hiatus starting in March.

"They are taking a hiatus so they can work on individual projects for a while but they are not splitting up," a source told E! News. "They will remain together and plan to work together in the future."

During the extended break, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan will "pursue their endeavors" while remaining close.

"They are great friends and fully support one another," our source shared. "They are very aware that they are able to work on their own stuff as well as remain together. This is an exciting time for them creatively and as a group."

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