Seldom has a Facebook post caused more uproar than the one that announced Zayn Malik’s departure from One Direction. Yes, Malik effectively ended one of the greatest runs in boy band history with the click of a button on March 25, 2015. To teens around the world, this was the most consequential thing to happen in pop music in quite some time.
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“My life with One Direction has been more than I could ever have imagined,” Malik said in the infamous post. “But, after five years, I feel like it is now the right time for me to leave the band. I’d like to apologize to the fans if I’ve let anyone down, but I have to do what feels right in my heart.”
While that statement punctuated Malik’s time with the band, the beef between him and his former bandmates didn’t stop there.
A normal 22-year-old or a solo pop star?
When Malik first announced his departure from the band, he chalked up his decision to wanting “to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight.” However, in his first interview after leaving the band, he got a little more candid about the real reason behind their split.
“Whenever I would suggest something, it was like it didn’t fit us,” Malik told Fader. “There was just a general conception that the management already had of what they want for the band and I just wasn’t convinced with what we were selling.
“I think I always wanted to go, from the first year, really,” he added. “I never really wanted to be there in the band.”
Less than a year later, Malik shared his debut solo single, “Pillowtalk.” It seems he didn’t vibe with being a “normal 22-year-old” for long.
The Spaces Between Us / Keep Getting Deeper
Malik reiterated that same sentiment in many of his post-One Direction interviews. He routinely talked about how he felt closed off from the other boys – even going as far as to say he never made a single friend while with the band.
It took a while for the other band members to respond to Malik’s claims. Each of the members responded in their own way.
“I think it’s a shame he felt that way,” Harry Styles told Rolling Stone in 2017. “But I never wish anything but luck to anyone doing what they love. If you’re not enjoying something and need to do something else, you absolutely should do that. I’m glad he’s doing what he likes, and good luck to him.”
In 2016, Louis Tomlinson performed on The X Factor just days after his mother died of Leukemia. All of his former bandmates came out in support, except Malik.
“All the boys had agreed to come to that performance and he didn’t show so that really bugged me,” Tomlinson said soon after the performance. “It was just seeing everyone there — Harry, Niall, and Liam — that was what I needed that night, that support. So on the other end of the spectrum it kind of really showed.”
Liam Payne felt similarly jaded about Malik’s exit in 2019. “I think with Zayn’s particular exit and the way he chose to go, we haven’t really heard from him since he left,” he told GQ at the time. “He didn’t even say goodbye if I am being honest. It was a really sordid scenario, from our side certainly. A bit strange. It’s difficult.”
Horan, arguably the most genial of the group, has been a little less hard-edged when talking about Malik’s split. When asked whether or not he stays in touch with Malik, he simply called him “the hardest man to get in touch with.”
One Direction’s 10th anniversary
In 2020, the band celebrated their 10th anniversary. Most of the members shared celebratory posts. It was one of the first glimmers of a possible reconciliation between the group.
“To the boys, I love you so much, and I couldn’t be prouder of everything we achieved together,” Styles wrote on Instagram. “Here’s to ten.”
Horan posted a similar message. “It’s such a major part of our lives and always will be. Cheers to US today boys and thank you to all you beautiful people who have supported us over the last 10 years.”
Though Malik did not acknowledge the anniversary at the time, it does seem he has opened his heart to the rest of the group after posting a cover of “You & I” last year. The track appears on their third studio album, Midnight Memories.
No official news of a reunion has been revealed, but each of the members fondly looking back on their time in the band bodes well for the possibility.
(Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
