Zayn Malik. Photo: Unknown
Filed in things we should maybe be ashamed of caring so much about, even though we definitely aren’t, Zayn Malik has made a shock announcement that he has quit One Direction, saying in a statement that, “I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight.” He’s following his heart apparently and not to leave too many shattered in his wake, the band have emphasised that they will continue as a four-piece and say that they respect his decision and wish him all the best for the future.
The news comes barely a week after Zayn bowed out of the boy band’s current On The Road tour, signing off officially with stress and unofficially because he was accused of cheating on his fiancé, Little Mix singer Perrie Edwards, and needed to fly home for “crisis talks”. Pictures of him embracing a 19-year-old blew up the tabloids and Malik responded with a tweet saying he was sorry for what it looks like and that “there’s a lot of jealous fucks in the world”.
We all need a little timeout every now and then, so while we grieve over his departure, let’s be secure in the knowledge that Zayn will one day return and parlay all this into a career cooler and weirder and, hopefully, a little less tumultuous. Sometimes adversity is the perfect motivation. Zayn, please don’t spend too long away.