Zayn Malik has opened up about fatherhood and fame in his first interview in six years to promote his new single Love Like This.
The Bradford-born singer spoke to Alex Cooper on her Call Me Daddy podcast on Spotify in an episode released on Wednesday. The interview was recorded in Cooper’s family house and is available to watch here.
Malik, 30, shot to fame as part of the boyband One Direction but was the first to leave the group in 2015 to pursue a solo career.
He has also been in the spotlight for his on-off relationship with American model Gigi Hadid, which ended in 2021 after the singer entered a no-contest plea to four charges of harassment. He has completed his sentence of 360 days on probation and anger management programmes.
He now has joint custody with Hadid for their daughter, Khai, who is now two and a half.
These are the highlights from Malik’s podcast interview.
He lives in Pennsylvania
“People always think it is super random,” he said, describing the north-eastern US state as “calm, chill, and super urban”. He said the surroundings resmbled those of his Bradford home.
Malik said he felt “more at home” than in any so-called trendy spots. He said he enjoyed “Wawa sub” — a fast-food sandwich.
A typical day for Zayn Malik goes like this…
As a co-parent, Malik has his daughter around 50 per cent of the time. This means he is either on duty duty or working on his own projects.
He said if he was left to his own devices, he would snooze until midday and then go to a recording studio to work on a song.
“I’m getting better at hanging with people,” he said about his introverted manner.
Malik said he loved to paint, draw and could cook “a lot of different things”.
He has three cats and three dogs
They “kind of” get along, he said. “They are in different places around the house.”
He also has three tortoises and six chickens but the latter are not named. Malik said a previous pet chicken died in his arms after he took it to the vet.
One of his cats is named Dobby as he is a Harry Potter fan. Dobby was a male house-elf who served the Malfoy family in the fantasy novel series.
https://t.co/HJLEFR79xw pic.twitter.com/9E0GiIMW60
— zayn (@zaynmalik) July 3, 2023
Growing up with sisters taught him about life
Malik said he grew up with three sisters, causing him to “learn a lot of things”.
Cooper said that she could tell he grew up around women and Malik added that he would often need to buy tampons for his sisters.
He said he was “a bit of a cheeky chappie” and got into trouble, climbing trees and playing football. Malik added he was always in danger of ending up in “serious trouble” but that his parents steered him clear of this.
“Looking back at childhood stresses, so many were just finicky, just childhood sh*t,” he said.
Malik said he was around 11 or 12 when he realised he was a good singer. He got involved in singing properly he fancied three girls, triplets, who were in his school choir.
“I auditioned for Grease at my school and nobody else could sing. My teacher said I should get some lessons,” he said.
“My teacher later said I should go on [The] X Factor, and it went from there.”
The X Factor process was hectic
Malik met Harry Styles before their first auditions for the ITV show in Manchester. He said he was aware of the other One Direction members before the boy band was formed.
He was 17 when One Direction hit the big time and said he was not “intellectually capable” of processing the magnitude of this at the time.
“There was no time to have anxiety or be nervous,” he said. “You’ve just got to go and do it. Sink or swim. And I think we did a good job.”
Leaving One Direction: ‘We got sick of each other’
Malik said he was made out to be the “brooding” and “serious” one but that it was just a marketing scheme. “I don’t think anyone has just one character trait,” he added. “I had only one face to pull. I was doing ‘Zoolander’ because as a kid I didn’t know what else to do.”
Of leaving the group in 2015, he said: “I don’t think I could have done it any longer. I got out at the right time.
“There was a lot of politics going on. Certain people were doing certain things and people didn’t want to sign contracts. I knew something was happening.
“I got ahead of the curve and I thought I wanted to get out of here. I completely selfishly wanted to be the first person to go and make my own record. I am serious about my own music.”
He added that the band had been together for five years and “got sick of each other”.
He needed time to come up with ideas to be a solo artist
After becoming a solo artist, Malik said he needed to adjust to singing for much longer by himself.
“I feel like we were so overexposed as a band, I feel like it takes time to have something to say as an individual. It takes time to figure out an identity. You can’t be on the conveyor belt and expect to have some new ideas.”
In 2016, Malik released his debut single Pillow Talk, first solo album Mind of Mine and contributed vocals to M.I.A’s song Freedun.
https://t.co/HJLEFR79xw pic.twitter.com/MaytxV1uQz
— zayn (@zaynmalik) July 10, 2023
Malik is not as serious as everybody thinks
Cooper said: “We are getting to know you through your music, but do you think that the world even slightly knows Zayn yet?”
Malik replied: “I hope I still have some juice, hopefully they can get to know me and see my thought patterns. I am trying to be an open book.”
When asked to describe himself in three words, he said “chill, funny, and loving”. He also said he liked that he was “witty and smart”.
“I have little laughs to myself,” he added, saying he was not “super stern or serious” all of the time — contrary to some people’s expectations.
“I am a bit sensitive sometimes and can take things the wrong way. It is something I am working on.”
He thinks anxiety is something to overcome
Malik said his daughter was his main focus and that he “had to step up” as a man being a dad. “I used to get anxious about having a conversation like this, but I want my daughter to see me doing this and think, ‘he is the man’.”
“Sometimes it became too much,” he said. “As a young kid, I loved performing but [on this platform] you are going to have feelings of anxiety.”
On being a father, he said he valued his time with his daughter and spends a full day with her “having fun” and “will not work at all”.
He tells dad jokes
“I keep being told I am telling dad jokes,” he said.
“It’s ok, I am using like Christmas cracker jokes. And people look at me like I am a weirdo and I am saying, "it’s ok, I am a dad.”
He added that his favourite thing to do with his daughter was playing instruments and singing with her.
‘The 2021 incident’
Cooper said she would not be doing her job if she did not ask Zayn about the 2021 harassment incident.
Malik had previously kept schtum on the affair and did not give much away this time either.
“My most valuable thing is time and it takes so much time to explain yourself,” he said. “I knew what happened and so did the people involved. I didn’t want to bring attention to anything or have a back and forth with her. I didn’t want anything that my daughter could read in future.”
He said that he did not need anybody with him and his daughter. “If I could have 60 per cent custody, I would,” he added.
New music
Malik said his new single Love Like This was a “summer jam”.
“I was [nervous] to go on stage as it has been a few years. But I have this energy too and I feel like I have something to give.
“My fanbase is ready and I am super thankful to them.”
