Zayn Malik has revealed the real reason behind his shock departure from One Direction.
The fan-favourite boyband were formed on the seventh season of The X Factor, which aired on ITV in 2010.
While Matt Cardle ultimately won the programme, One Direction went on to become one of the best-selling boybands of all time.
During their time together, One Direction released five albums, went on four world tours, and starred in their own movie – before they went on an indefinite hiatus in 2016.
One year prior, Zayn sensationally left the band to pursue a solo career.
During his appearance on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast, which was his first interview in six years, Zayn admitted that he left the group because he wanted to be a “normal 22-year-old”.
The dad-of-one also revealed that One Direction went on an indefinite hiatus because they’d gotten “sick of each other, if I’m being completely honest.”
“I was like, ‘I’m just going to get out of here, I think this is done,'” Zayn admitted.
“I completely selfishly wanted to be the first person to go and make my own record.”
“There was obviously underlying issues within our friendships, too. We’d got sick of each other, if I’m being completely honest.”
“We had been together nearly every day for five years. We were close and got to do crazy things together which no-one else in the world will ever understand.”
“I look back now in a much fonder light than when I first left,” Zayn continued. “It just ran its course. I wasn’t afraid of what the world thought. First thing I wanted to do [after leaving] was ring my mum and be like, ‘Can I come home?'”
“As soon as she said yeah, I was like, ‘Ok I’m done.’ I hadn’t told my mum beforehand. I hadn’t really thought about it.”
Speaking about the toll being in a group took on him, the singer said: “It was strange when we were on the live shows… it was a bit crazy.”
“I don’t think I comprehended it at all. It was just fun, but repetitive fun takes a certain toll and it feels overbearing.”
“I was 17. It’s taken me so much time to process it now I’m older. I don’t black it out, I just don’t overthink it.”
“We got thrown into the deep end, there was no time for anxiety. I definitely got out at the right time. If I’d done it any longer it might have affected me more.”
Zayn also spoke about feeling the pressure to fit a certain “role” in One Direction, saying:Â “They used to make out I was the serious one. That wasn’t really my personality type – it was just a marketing scheme.”
“I get it but I don’t think you can define a person as that. We were a bit more complex than that. I think I just had one face to pull and that was it and fans go with it.”
