One Direction experienced catastrophic fame levels on The X Factor. The band grew after the show, taking over the world with pop-culture relevance, tour tickets, and album sales.

The five-some (Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Liam Payne) spread positivity through their music. However, the band faced a huge hurdle when Zayn Malik left. Liam Payne critiqued the way Zayn Malik left One Direction six years ago.

Zayn Malik’s exit after five years with the band

In March 2015, Zayn Malik exited the band. One Direction shared the announcement in a Facebook post that confirmed Zayn Malik’s departure and statement. The boys were in the middle of a tour.

The band became a four-piece after his departure. However, the boys did not give up. They released their fifth album a year after Zayn left. But the band and the fans felt Zayn’s emptiness the whole time.

Zayn Malik spoke about his departure and said: “My life with One Direction has been more than I could ever have imagined. But, after five years, I feel like it is now the right time for me to leave the band. I want to apologize to the fans if I’ve let anyone down, but I have to do what feels right in my heart.”

According to Mr. Malik, he is looking forward to being a normal 22 years old with some private time out of the spotlight.

Liam’s attempt to reach out to Zayn

In 2019, British GQ asked Liam if he reached out to Zayn. Liam said he did.

“I didn’t want him to feel like he was going through this all alone in some ways or that we were all out to get him,” Payne expressed. “We’re the only people who know what you’re going through. The only five people who know what you are going through were all in a room together once, and you left – fair enough – but you don’t want anyone going through such evils for no reason.”

Besides that, Liam Payne revealed that Zayn Malik no longer performing his songs on tour.

“His streaming numbers are ridiculous, but I think he misses out on the performance side a bit, you know,” he said. “He can’t seem to get past that part.”

Liam described that his relationship with Malik got to a difficult point.

“But it got to a point with me where I wouldn’t know where to begin with Zayn,” he said.

“I hope he has good people around him, but I don’t at this stage think it’s anything the rest of us can solve.”

Surprisingly, Liam revealed one more shocking detail about Zayn’s departure.

“I think with Zayn’s particular exit and the way he went, we haven’t heard from him since he left,” Liam Payne commented.

“He didn’t even say goodbye, if I am honest. It was a sordid scenario, from our side certainly. Strange. It’s difficult.”

Zayn Malik’s and Liam Payne’s relationship is rather unclear as of now. Maybe in the future, they will patch things up.

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