Why Did Zayn Malik Leave One Direction?

HOLY CRAPBALLS, GUYS!!!! This truly is a day that will live in infamy, because Zayn Malik is leaving One Direction. YOWZA. I get it. You're still processing. But you need answers, because this news is nothing short of Earth-shattering. Why is Zayn Malik leaving One Direction? Is he going solo? Is he embarking on an Eat, Pray, Love-style soul-searching journey? Did he just have an inexplicable urge to be the Ginger Spice of 1D???

As per a statement released via the official One Direction Facebook page on Wednesday afternoon, Malik has decided to part ways with the guys after five years of making little girls' hearts explode. The remaining members of the band, Niall, Harry, Liam and Louis all "respect his decision and send him all [their] love," and they will supposedly continue performing and making music on as a quartet.

Just last week, it was announced that Malik left the band's On The Road Again world tour citing stress. Now, with the news of his departure, it seems like the pressure of being a Directioner has become too much.

After all, he has been under a lot of scrutiny lately. Some ugly cheating rumors about the Directioner began to surface, after he was supposedly seen with an unidentified blonde. That unidentified blonde was allegedly not his fiancé, Perrie Edwards.

Malik was understandably frustrated, and fired back on Twitter. Perhaps he's leaving because he's fed up with the trolling media infringing on his privacy? After all, most normal peeps don't have to deal with that kind of criticism.

Welp, it kinda sounds like a combination of both of those factors. In addition to apologizing to his fans and thanking his bandmates for their friendship and support, Malik says in the Facebook statement:

I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight.

I gotta say, that's pretty fair. Sure, we're all sad to see him go, but nobody can blame the dude for craving some time outside of the fishbowl. After all, he's been touring the world since he was a teenager. Just to reiterate: he has spent the entirety of his adult life in the draining world of showbiz. In this writer's humble opinion, Zayn has earned some Zayn-time. Plus, I'm sure he has plenty of streaming television to catch up on. Now, he has plenty of time to do that, like a normal person.

Image: Getty Images