Zayn Malik has opened up on the real reason he quit One Direction. The revelation came during his first interview in six years.
The singer was the first member to leave the group at the height of their success in 2015, blaming "stress". He also said he wanted to be a "normal 22-year-old".
However speaking to Alex Cooper on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast ahead of the release of his comeback single, the dad-of-one admitted there was more to his bombshell decision. He said he realised the band’s time together was drawing to a close when his fellow musicians declined to sign new contracts.
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Bradford-born Zayn said he decided he wanted to get "ahead of the curve". And he also admitted he wanted be the first one to go solo and release his own music.
He said: "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 just seen it [coming] and 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'.
"I'm a passive dude, but when it comes to my music and my business, I'm serious about it and I'm competitive, so I wanted to be the first to go and do my own thing. That was the reason."
The star said there were also "underlying issues" among the band members. He said they were close but "got sick of each other".
He added: “We were close… we’d done crazy things with each other that nobody else in the world will ever understand and I look back on it now in a much fonder light. There were great experiences, I had great times with them, but we’d just run our course.”
The hour-long interview also saw him share his struggles with anxiety, his love of cooking and his large collection of pets, including three dogs and six chickens. And he laughed off his portrayal as "the moody one" in One Direction, saying it was "just a marketing scheme".
One Direction went on a 'hiatus' in 2016, however, there was no official split, and the group released their final album titled Made in the AM in November of the same year.
The band formed on the X factor in 2010 and in the six years they produced five studio albums and embarked on four world tours, selling a total of 70 million records worldwide.
