Last September, suffering a punishing heatwave in London, Harry Styles caused a frenzy of thirsty interest as he was pictured stripping off for a refreshing dip in the north of the city.

Bounded by thick woodland and away from prying eyes, the hunky popstar’s chosen location sparked intrigue: Hampstead Heath’s men’s only bathing pond made headlines in the 80s and 90s as a popular gay cruising spot.

As of last year, the sundeck no longer permits nude sunbathing – but the plein-air changing rooms and shared shower facilities are still favored by the city’s more free-spirited and hipster types.

Undoubtedly, Styles has made millions from his embrace of a Bowie-esque gender ambiguity and firm refusal to directly address speculation about his 𝑠e𝑥uality.

Nonetheless, this snatched sight of Styles – who is now worth an estimated $190 million – at ease among his fellow bathers, speaks to the particularly rooted and unpresuming character of a man who friends say has managed to avoid the worst excesses of mega-stardom.

Indeed, speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, sources close to Styles – who celebrated his 30th birthday last month – reveal he is now ‘ready for the next chapter’ in his life, away from the spotlight.

Last fall, suffering a punishing heatwave in London, Harry Styles caused a frenzy of thirsty interest as he was pictured stripping off for a refreshing dip in the north of the city.

Bounded by thick woodland and away from prying eyes, the hunky popstar’s chosen location sparked intrigue: Hampstead Heath’s men’s only bathing pond made headlines in the 80s and 90s as a popular gay cruising spot.

This snatched sight of Styles at ease among his fellow bathers, speaks to the particularly rooted and unpresuming character of a man who friends say has managed to avoid the worst excesses of mega-stardom.

And, despite having dated his latest girlfriend Taylor Russell, 29, for less than a year, it is also said that Styles is ‘ready to start a family’ with the Canadian actress.

‘Harry feels as if he has lived ten lifetimes already, but one thing is certain – his 30s will be nothing like his 20s. He has experienced all the fame anyone could ever want. He is now ready for the next chapter,’ sources explained.

‘He is in love with Taylor. He wants a family with her and this is the next phase of his life.’

While Styles will no doubt continue to make music and is expected to further ‘explore his acting opportunities’, insiders warn fans not to expect any new projects in the near future: ‘Harry no longer needs to prove himself and he is finally going to take some time to reap the rewards of his success.’

Certainly, that success has been more than impressive.

The former talent-show teen turned modern-day rocker – tailor-made for a new generation bent on subverting all stereotypes from gender to clothing and 𝑠e𝑥 – is enjoying a newfound place at the very top of the Hollywood firmament, after wrapping last July on a 169-date world tour that grossed a staggering $620 million and drew over 5 million fans.

He has since spent most of the past 8 months hunkered down with Russell in London’s Hampstead Heath – where he reportedly owns two sprawling neighbouring mansions, worth a combined $16 million, and enjoys regular swims in the nearby bathing ponds.

It’s quite the meteoric rise for the working-class son of divorced parents who used to pick up shifts at his local bakery as a teenager.

Described by his teachers as ‘cheeky’ and having ‘lots of friends’, Styles dropped out of high school after his mother entered him – aged just 16 – in ‘The X-Factor’ talent show in 2010.

Despite having dated his latest girlfriend Taylor Russell (pictured), 29, for less than a year, sources say Styles is ‘ready to start a family’ with the Canadian actress.

‘Harry feels as if he has lived ten lifetimes already, but one thing is certain – his 30s will be nothing like his 20s. He has experienced all the fame anyone could ever want. He is now ready for the next chapter,’ sources explained.

While Styles will no doubt continue to make music, insiders warn fans not to expect any new projects in the near future: ‘Harry no longer needs to prove himself and he is finally going to take some time to reap the rewards of his success.’ (Pictured: Russell).

It was then the show’s creator and music mogul Simon Cowell formed One Direction – the boyband that Styles headed-up, alongside Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson.

Though they didn’t actually win their season, the band went on to become the show’s – and Cowell’s – greatest success story, selling over 70 million records and winning a host of gongs – include seven Brits and American Music Awards respectively.

In 2016, a temporary hiatus became a permanent band split when Styles joined powerhouse talent agency CAA and signed a musical contract with Columbia Records – much to the ire of fans.

The move proved fortuitous, however. And while his bandmates fumbled their own attempts at solo careers, Styles – always the clear star of the group – defied the critics who said he wouldn’t be able to shake the dated boyband aesthetic.

Last year, having released three albums in fives years – the first of which hit No.1 in the US and UK – Styles was named Britain’s richest star under 30 for the second year running, after earning around $50 million in 2022 alone.

He quickly realized he was onto a winner with his more avant-garde fashion choices – drawing parallels in the media with eccentric megastars of yore like Mick Jagger and David Bowie.

A 2018 deal with Gucci and a 2020 Vogue cover – featuring Styles in a blue lace-trimmed dress by the Italian designer – sealed the rock star image… and sparked not a little controversy.

Indeed, some critics have accused the gender-bending star of so-called ‘queer-baiting’ and capitalizing off a TikTok generation that rejects traditional masculinity.

In all fairness though, Styles has never outwardly confirmed his 𝑠e𝑥uality either way, and instead has condemned the need to define one’s preferences as ‘outdated’.

Speaking to Rolling Stone magazine in 2022, he gave his clearest clue yet, saying: ‘I think everyone, including myself, has [their] own journey with figuring out 𝑠e𝑥uality and getting more comfortable with it.’

That said, as befits a rocker lifestyle, Styles has only ever been romantically linked with a string of A-list women: From Taylor Swift, to Kendall Jenner, Emily Ratajkowski, the French model Camille Rowe, Olivia Wilde and, most recently, Taylor Russell.

Tragedy came in 2020, when his former girlfriend and The X-Factor host, Caroline Flack, committed suicide.

Friends of Styles – who was 14 years Flack’s junior, and just 17 when the pair briefly dated in 2011 – said he had been devasted by their breakup.

Styles’s mother Anne Twist, who is thought to have remained close to Flack in the following years, shared a heartfelt poem on social media in the wake of her sudden death.

More turbulence followed Styles’s perhaps ill-advised forays into acting.

In 2016, a temporary hiatus became a permanent band split when Styles joined powerhouse talent agency CAA and signed a musical contract with Columbia Records – much to the ire of One Direction fans.

A 2018 deal with Gucci and a 2020 Vogue cover – featuring Styles in a blue lace-trimmed dress by the Italian designer (pictured) – sealed the rock star image… and sparked not a little controversy.

Some critics have accused the gender-bending star of so-called ‘queer-baiting’ and capitalizing off a TikTok generation that rejects traditional masculinity.

After a relatively warm reception to his breakout role in Christopher Nolan’s 2017 World War Two blockbuster, ‘Dunkirk’, later roles in gay romance ‘My Policeman’ and dystopian drama ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ were treated less favorably by critics.

The BBC slammed Styles’s performance in the latter as ‘leaden’ and ‘flat’, while The Washington Post described him a ‘novice actor… clearly out of his depth’ for his performance in ‘My Policeman’.

‘Don’t Worry Darling’ descended into further farce as rumors of an off-camera feud abounded.

After Styles’s nascent relationship with Olivia Wilde – the film’s director – formed on set in 2021, reports soon emerged that his co-star Florence Pugh was furious, complaining that Styles was being given preferential treatment in the movie’s promotional material.

A smattering of perceived red-carpet slights between the cast, and even suggestions that Styles and Wilde had become romantically involved before the end of her marriage to Ted Lasso actor Jason Sudeikis, all rather overshadowed the movie that currently enjoys a meagre 38 percent score on rating site Rotten Tomatoes.

But for all the ferocity of an industry dominated by catty egos, friends say Styles has managed to rise to the top while maintaining a sense of normality.

‘Like any other son, the first thing he does when he gets home is raid the fridge,’ his mother Anne – or ‘Mamma Twist’, as his fans know her – told the Mail last year.

‘He’s just the same as he has always been. As a very little boy, he was very much like he is now, just a smaller version.’

And perhaps he is. But if suggestions that now – aged 30 – he’s ready to start a family of his own prove true, one wonders if Anne’s little boy has finally grown up.