Zayn Malik has spoken out about raising his and ex Gigi Hadid’s two-year-old daughter, Khai.
The 30-year-old singer opened up about his daughter in an episode preview of Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast, marking his first interview in six years. In the teaser, he expressed how his decisions will ultimately impact his daughter down the line.
“Since I’ve had my daughter, the main thing in my mind is trying to be a good example to her,” he said. “That’s why I’m even doing this interview, you know?”
He spoke candidly about how he used to get nervous when doing interviews, before pointing out how Khai could one day react to his conversation with Cooper.
“I used to get a lot of anxiety around having a conversation like this,” the former One Direction member said. “And I want her to be able to look at me and be like, ‘My dad’s doing this.’”
During the podcast preview, Cooper also asked Malik to share a “dad quality that [he’s] proudly taken on”. In response, he said: “I keep being told I’m telling dad jokes. And I’m leaning into it. I’m just like, ‘It’s OK. It’s cool.’”
While he joked that “people look at him like [he’s] a weirdo,”he also noted he’s “a dad now”, so he’s “allowed to tell these jokes”.
Speaking to Cooper, Malik went on to praise the way that Khai, who he welcomed with Hadid in 2020, has shaped his life.
“I think we all get to a certain point in adult life where everything sort of seems vague and grey and boring and she’s brought that colour back to my life for me,” he said.
In October 2021, one year after Khaie was born, Hadid and Malik ended their on-and-off relationship of six years. Their split came after rumours emerged of an alleged altercation between Malik and Hadid’s mother, Yolanda Hadid, on 29 September 2021.
Malik vehemently denied the allegations in a statement to TMZ at the time, and “declined” to give any further details about the incident “for the sake of my daughter”.
Since their breakup, the former couple have opted to keep their family life out of the spotlight. However, Hadid did tag her ex in an Instagram Story last year, which featured a photograph of Khai’s Peppa Pig-themed cake for her second birthday. She appeared to confirm that she and Malik are amicably co-parenting in the caption of her post, writing: “Our angel girl turned two today.”
Earlier this year, Hadid also spoke out about motherhood and her daily routine with her daughter. During a interview with WSJ Magazine, she shared that as she usually wakes up around 7.30am or 8.30am, her two-year-old does the same.
“Whatever time she’s waking up, I’m waking up. I have a very mom morning routine,” she said. “We walk a lot. We do yoga together. With lifting her and running around all day and going to the park, I get moving.”
Months before appearing on Call Her Daddy, Malik made headlines when rumours first circulated that he had dated Selena Gomez. However, earlier this month, fans speculated that they could be feuding, as they spotted that Gomez had unfollowed Malik, Dua Lipa, and sisters Gigi and Bella Hadid on Instagram.
