Former One Direction member Zayn Malik has opened up about the reasons he left the band and also on the incidents involving Yolanda Hadid, the mother of his ex-girlfriend, Gigi Hadid.
Malik said that he realized the band’s time together was drawing to a close when his fellow musicians declined to sign new contracts.
“I knew something was happening, so I just got ahead of the curve,” Malik said. “I was like, ‘I’m just going to get out of here, I think this is done.'”
The British singer was speaking to Alex Cooper on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast ahead of the release of his comeback single “Love Like This” — his first interview in six years.
“I completely selfishly wanted to be the first person to go and make my own record. If I’m being completely honest with you, I was like, ‘I’m going to jump the gun here,'” Malik said. “I’m a passive dude, but when it comes to my music and my business, I’m serious about it and I’m competitive, so I wanted to be the first to go and do my own thing. That was the reason.”
Malik left One Direction during their 2015 tour, citing stress as the reason.
“There was obviously underlying issues within our friendships, too. We’d got sick of each other, if I’m being completely honest,” Malik added.
“We were close… we’d done crazy things with each other that nobody else in the world will ever understand and I look back on it now in a much fonder light,” Malik added. “There were great experiences, I had great times with them, but we’d just run our course.”
In 2021, there were allegations that Malik had “struck” Yolanda Hadid, which he denied. He did not contest the charges out of consideration for Khai, his daughter with Gigi Hadid.
“I just didn’t want to bring attention to anything,” Malik said, adding that he wasn’t “trying to get into a negative back and forth” with Yolanda Hadid, or “any sort of narrative online where my daughter was going to look back and read that. There was no point.”
“I believe I dealt with it in the best way, an amicable, respectful way, and that’s all that needs to be said,” Malik added.
Malik signed with Mercury Records last month. “Love Like This” releases July 21.
