Zayn Malik Gets Candid About His Breakup With Gigi Hadid

In a new interview with Nylon, Zayn Malik opened up about his past relationships, including with Gigi Hadid.

Malik and Hadid began dating in 2015 and welcomed a daughter, Khai, in 2020. Roughly a year later, they called it quits. “I didn’t really take much time to get to know myself,” he told the magazine, noting that he may have rushed into the six-year relationship. “It’s probably wise to take your time before you fully invest in another human being as a lifelong partner.”

Malik also spoke about being a father to his 3 year-old daughter, who he has “50% of the time,” following a custody agreement. “I would have her 90% if I could,” he said.

He also looked further back into his relationship history, like his engagement to Little Mix singer and fellow X Factor alum Perrie Edwards. The couple dated for four years during the height of Malik’s One Direction fame. In 2013, he proposed to Edwards, but the engagement was called off two years later. “I didn’t know anything about anything at that point,” he said. “I thought I did, because I was 21. I was legally allowed to do everything, but I didn’t know sh*t.”

Before Malik found fame in his hometown of Bradford, England, he “never really had a girlfriend,” he told Nylon, adding, “My parents were kind of old-school, so I never brought a girlfriend home or anything.”

When he got a chance to bring a partner home, he jumped at the opportunity. “I jumped straight in, two feet first, and was like, ‘I’m going to have a girlfriend, and she’s going to live with me. This makes me a grown man.’”

Despite his highly publicized relationships, Malik recently admitted on The Zach Sang Show podcast that he isn’t sure he’s ever found love. “I don’t know if I’ve actually truly been in love at this point,” he told the titular host.