Zayn Malik no longer speaks with other One Direction members

Zayn Malik had a hard time when he left One Direction in 2015. According to Liam Payne he did not even say goodbye and the rest of the boy band has not spoken to him since. “It was intense for us and a bit strange. It was difficult,” Liam looks back in the British GQ.

“He was definitely the best singer of us all”

One of the reasons why Zayn left the boy band was his stage fright and the trouble he had with the enormous fame. Although he continued solo, he still struggles with that. “He was definitely the best singer of all of us. But to come to a point where you no longer dare to step on stage? That is really intense.”

Liam wanted to contact Zayn, but didn’t know how. “I didn’t want him to feel that he was doing it all by himself or that we had planned for him. We were the only people who knew what was going on,” says the singer. “But it reached a point where I no longer knew where to start. I hope he has good people around him, but I don’t think it’s something that we can solve right now.”

It was also not always pleasant among the four remaining singers, who parted indefinitely a few months after Zayn’s departure. “I’m still thinking about things that I said I would do differently now, but that’s part of growing up. Sitting in One Direction seemed more like a schoolyard – I call it One Direction University. Everyone has sometimes regret things he said at a party, but the difference is that with us the whole world was watching. “