Former member of One Direction Zayn Malik has given his first interview in six years and has provided fans with a glimpse into his personal life. Talking on Call Her Daddy podcast - the most listened to podcast by women on Spotify - the singer spoke to host Alex Cooper about how fatherhood 'saved him'.
Zayn is the father of two-year-old Khai, who he had with ex girlfriend Gigi Hadid. He says his little one has "brought colour back to his life".
The Bradford singer and supermodel split in October 2021, but continue to co-parent. He now says his main focus is being a "good example" to Khai.
"Since I've had my daughter the main thing in my life is trying to be a good example to her." He said. "That's why I'm even doing this interview. I used to get a lot of anxiety around doing a conversation like this but I want her to be able to look at me and say 'my dad's doing this'."
He added: "I keep being told I'm telling dad jokes and I'm leaning into it it's okay, it's cool. People just look at me like I'm a weirdo and I'm like well I'm a dad now so I'm allowed to tell these jokes!
"I think we all get to a certain point in adult life where everything sort of seems vague and grey and boring and she's brought that colour back to my life for me."
The episode also saw Zayn recall the reasons behind his exit from One Direction's. The 30-year-old quit in 2015 and left his bandmates Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson to continue as a four piece.
He explained: "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've been together every day for five years, and we got sick of each other, if I'm being completely honest."
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The singer has shied away from the limelight in recent years and shared that he felt like the band members were so overexposed in the early years, that he decided to take a step back when he matured. However, he has continued to make music and for fans waiting on Zayn's new album, good news.
He recently signed a new record deal with Mercury Records and it looks as though his first single with the new label is set to come out later this month. Since leaving One Direction, Zayn has released three albums, the first of which, Mind of Mine, saw him become the first British male artist to debut at number one in both the UK and US with his first solo single and album.
