Boy band member Louis Tomlinson's life is about to head in an unanticipated direction: he's going to be a dad. The One Direction pop star is expecting a child with Los Angeles stylist Briana Jungwirth; the two are known to be very close friends out of the spotlight.

"Louis is happy and very excited about becoming a dad and he thinks Briana will be an amazing mother. It was a surprise at first, but he and Briana are very, very close friends and this has brought them even closer," a mutual friend of the couple tells People.

Tomlinson split from his longtime girlfriend Eleanor Calder in March and met 23-year-old Jungwirth through mutual friends. Also 23, Tomlinson promises to be a "hands-on dad" when the baby is born early next year, noted the friend. The daddy-to-be has kept busy looking for properties in L.A. near Jungwirth as well as flying across the world to make every ultrasound appointment, notes the Mirror.

"They are both really happy and although they aren't in a relationship, their friendship is extremely strong and they are both really excited about the baby. It's early days and Briana and the baby's health are the most important things right now."

"Briana is a really lovely girl; she's absolutely not interested in Louis' fame. She's very private and most of the time they spend together is out of the public eye, just hanging out with their friends," added the friend.

Tomlinson's biological family seems to be growing while his One Direction family recently lost a member, Zayn Malik in March. Despite the adjustments and fan outrage, the group shows no signs of slowing down as they recently out tour, continuing to make headlines as Harry Styles takes a tumble off stage and urges fans to boycott SeaWorld.

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