Louis Tomlinson is ''taken''.

The 23-year-old One Direction singer will welcome a baby with stylist Briana Jungwirth next year after a brief fling and while the pair were believed to be planning to raise the baby as friends, his bandmate Liam Payne says Louis is ''taken''.

When asked by Attitude magazine which of his bandmates he would fancy if he were gay for a day, Liam said: ''Louis is my best mate, he's the one I have the strongest connection with. Would I marry him? Well I couldn't as he is taken now.''

Liam didn't clarify if Louis is dating Briana or someone else.

Louis split from his girlfriend of four years, Eleanor Calder, in March and Briana's pregnancy was revealed in July.

While Louis has remained tight-lipped on his impending fatherhood, except to say on 'Good Morning America' that he is ''buzzing'', Liam hit out at claims that the pregnancy is fake.

He said: ''Louis is very happy about becoming a dad. But the funny thing is, there are some people out there who think that Louis getting Briana pregnant is fake.

''That it's not real; it's a cover up. And that's the sort of s**t that gets to me. But you have to hold your tongue and that's fine.''

Liam also denied speculation that Louis is in a secret relationship with bandmate Harry Styles.

Speaking about fans bringing pride flags to concerts to show support for the LGBQT community, he said: ''There were loads of rainbow flags flying at our shows, but I think that was mainly because people think of the Louis and Harry thing, which is absolutely nuts and drives me insane.

''It's like, when you know the ins and outs of what is going on with people and it's just annoying when it's so stupid. It becomes like a conspiracy or like a cult, the people who watch them and think that every move they make is a gesture toward them being together, and I know it's just not true and it makes me mad.

''I get tagged in drawings of Louis and Harry being together. I remember one time I was sitting next to my dad and I see this picture of me on top of Niall [Horan], which was quite intimidating. It's just really weird to have people drawing these sexually explicit pictures of us in strange situations.''