Zayn Malik has been spilling the beans on his One Direction exit in his first interview in six years.
The Pillowtalk singer, 30, says "there was a lot of politics going on" when he quit the band in 2015 and has claimed "certain people didn't want to sign contracts".
He goes on to recall there being "underlying issues, like within our friendships, too" when discussing his time with Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson.
The dad-of-one says he and his former bandmates "got sick of each other" after spending every day together for five years but not looking back on their shared experience in "a much fonder light".
Speaking on Alex Cooper's Call Her Daddy podcast, the Bradford-born musician said: "Look I don't want to go into too much detail, but there was a lot of politics going on, certain people were doing certain things, certain people didn't want to sign contracts, so I knew something was happening. There was obviously underlying issues, like within our friendships, too.
"We'd been together every day for five years, and we got sick of each other if I'm being completely honest. So we were close."
In 2015, Zayn sent shockwaves throughout the Directioner fanbase as he announced his departure from the group in a statement reading: "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."
Zayn and his bandmates had their own personas in the band, created by music bosses and it appears that Zayn's personality wasn't exactly his authentic self.
"They just said, 'Oh yeah, you can be the mysterious one'," he explained before saying: "That wasn't necessarily my personality, I'm just chill. I know a lot of people that have high-energy personalities and it's just not the way I am."
During his time in the chart-mauling group, Zayn performed to millions of fans each year. But, since stepping out as a solo artist, he has performed just a handful of times. The star has never shied away from discussing his mental health struggles, which include anxiety.
Following the birth of his daughter, it appears that Malik is going to be doing his best to get back on stage.
"I'm still nervous now cause it's been a few years since I've been on stage," he told podcast host Alex, before adding: "I have this energy too. I feel like I have something to give and I want to get on stage and be there again and feel that.
"That's one thing I can say, my fan base has always been supportive in that manner, they're always just like, 'We're here, we've got you when you're ready, we've got you, we're gonna come and listen to your tunes'. I've gotta be super, super thankful for that and I'm super grateful. I feel that love for sure. I'm ready to prove these people right."
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