Zayn Malik confessed real reason he left One Direction | Music | Entertainment

It’s been over eight years since Zayn Malik devastated millions of fans and quit One Direction in March 2015.

It’s also been six years since the Bradford lad gave any interviews at all.

And in a new revealing chat, he has a lot to say about his departure from the biggest band in the world.

Harry, Niall, Liam and Louis staggered on as a four-piece until January 2016, but, as with Geri ditching The Spice Girls, The writing was on the wall when Zayn left.

Now he has finally given an in-depth explanation for why he did it and, just as importantly, when.

Malik has been keeping a relatively low profile since the release of third album Nobody Is Listening in 2021 but it was recently announced that he has signed a new record deal with Mercury, with new single Love Like This due on July 21

Despite a very public turbulent 2021 split with girlfriend Gigi Hadid (and accusations of harrassment of her mother), Malik has been speaking of cherishing his time with their daughter.

He said: “When I’m with her, I don’t work at all. I just spend a full day with her doing things that she wants to do, like painting, Play-Doh… go to the park, go to the theme park, go to the zoo. I feel like I’ve rekindled my own childhood through her, you know?”

Malik himself was only 17 when he entered the X Factor and has spoken previously about how the pressures of fame at such a young age left him battling an eating disorder and anxiety.

However, he revealed details about his reasons for leaving the band in the new interview with podcast Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper.

He said: “There was obviously underlying issues within our friendships, too. We’d got sick of each other if I’m being completely honest.”

Malik confessed that he knew. “we’d just run our course,” and crucially decided to take advantage of that moment.

He added: “I knew something was happening, so I just got ahead of the curve. I was like, ‘I’m just going to get out of here, I think this is done’… 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’.