Former One Direction member Zayn Malik has opened up about his reasons for leaving the group as well as the incidents involving Yolanda Hadid, the mother of his ex-girlfriend Gigi Hadid.
Malik said he realized the band’s time together was coming to an end when his fellow musicians refused to sign new contracts.
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“I knew something was up, so I just got ahead of myself,” Malik said. “I was like, ‘I’m just gonna get out of here, I think it’s done.'”
The British singer was talking 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 take the leap here,'” Malik said. passive, but when it comes to my music and my business, I’m serious and I’m competitive, so I wanted to be the first to do my own thing. That was the reason.
Malik quit One Direction during their 2015 tour, citing stress as the reason.
“There were obviously underlying issues within our friendships too. We had had enough of each other, if I’m being completely honest,” Malik added.
“We were close… we had done crazy things with each other that no one else in the world would ever understand and I look back on that now in a much more loving light,” Malik added. “There were some great experiences, I had some good times with them, but we had just taken our course.”
In 2021, there were allegations that Malik “punched” 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 draw 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 online story where my daughter would look back and read this.
“I believe I treated him in the best way, in a friendly and respectful way, and that’s all there is to say,” added Malik.
Malik signed with Mercury Records last month. “Love Like This” is released on July 21.
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