Zayn Malik, the second most popular band member of One Direction, has decided to leave the band.
On Wedensday, March 25, the band released a statement saying that while the band will continue as a four-piece for its world tour and fifth album, the band was saddened to see him leave.
“We’re really sad to see Zayn go, but we totally respect his decision and send him out love for the future.” This was part of the official statement posted on Facebook Wednesday.
Malik explained his reasons for leaving in the statement as well. “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.”
Simon Cowell even commented, “I have seen him grow in confidence and I am truly sorry to see him leave.”
But this announcement came after Malik quit the One Direction tour, saying that it was stress that caused him to leave. Also, he left the tour just a day after photos were released of Malik with his arm around a woman, who was not his fiancé, Perrie Edwards of Little Mix, while partying in Thailand. He denied cheating on Edwards, going to Twitter, saying, “I’m sorry for what it looks like.”
DailyMail said that these pictures were the breaking point for Malik, “He did nothing wrong but the amount of criticism he received was simply too much. He needs to get away.”
Although Malik gave an interview to The Sun, saying that being in One Direction did not make him happy. “I only ever tried to do it for the fans, it was only ever for them. And, basically, I’m only upset I feel like I may have let them down in some sort of way.”
Malik said that the next step was “going to write, relax and chill.” Although, Malik was spotted heading off to a London studio. This has started rumors that Malik was going solo but Naughty Boy, a.k.a. Sahhid Khan, said, “Zayn is going to feature on my next album.”
And while many fans worldwide are making their opinions known, Malik has dismissed cheating rumors and made known there are no hard feelings between the band members. Only time will tell if this will harshly impact One Direction’s or Malik’s careers.

Share