Ellie Goulding may have denied rumors that she and singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran were dating after they were caught holding hands at the VMAs, but Sheeran recently confirmed that they were an item…and now they’re not.

“‘I love that holding hands with my friends means we’re an item,” Goulding wrote. “In that case I am in many relationships. Lover not a hater. #whatthef–k.”

Sheeran, however, had a different story on September 4 when he did a radio interview in Washington, saying, “I mean, normal people don’t hold hands if they’re just friends. It was going on. And now it’s not.”

Sheeran says he has total respect for Goulding, whose single “Burn” has topped the charts in the U.K. for three solid weeks.

“She’s a really cool girl and she’s very talented,” he said. “She’s had a No. 1 single for three weeks in England now. It’s all going well.”

Sheeran is enjoying success of his own; the young Englishman released his own album in 2011 before exploding onto the London scene and attracting the attention of Elton John; now, he has fans all over the world, has an award-winning album that went quintuple platinum in the U.K., and has written songs for the likes of Taylor Swift and One Direction.

Image: Twitter