The Biggest Revelations From Zayn Malik’s Call Her Daddy Interview

Despite being notoriously coy about his personal and professional life, Zayn Malik has given his first major interview in six years. Appearing on the Call Her Daddy podcast, the “Pillowtalk” artist opened up to host Alex Cooper about being a father, returning to music, and leaving the band that kick-started his career, One Direction.

Find some of the biggest revelations from Malik’s Call Her Daddy interview, below.

Zayn On Fatherhood

Back in 2020, Malik and his ex-girlfriend Gigi Hadid welcomed a daughter together, Khai. The following year, Malik and Hadid decided to split, ending their on-and-off six-year relationship. “Since I’ve had my daughter, the main thing in my mind is trying to be a good example to her,” the singer explained to Cooper during the sit-down, sharing that he cares for Khai “50% of the time.”

“Time I have with her is so important because I feel like she’s growing up so fast. So when I’m with her, I don’t work, like at all,” Malik added, revealing that his daughter appears to share his love of music. “She shows a lot of signs of musical intelligence already. Like I’ll sing and she sings along and she can do good harmonies and stuff already, she’s only two and a half and she harmonizes with me well.”

Zayn On Alleged Altercation With Yolanda Hadid

In October 2021, Gigi’s mother, Yolanda Hadid, reportedly accused the former One Direction star of striking her. Malik “adamantly” denied the allegations and entered a no-contest plea to four charges of harassment. The singer was reportedly later sentenced to 360 days of probation and was required to complete anger management and domestic violence education programs.

Speaking to Cooper, Malik explained that he preferred not to speak of the matter on social media at the time, and was primarily concerned about those involved and “wasn’t trying to get into a negative back and forth with her.”

Meanwhile, the singer also shared that he didn’t want to get caught in a “narrative” that his young daughter might one day be exposed to. “Any sort of narrative online where my daughter was going to look back and read that and be able to read into it and it would just be something that was … There was no point,” he continued.

Zayn On Leaving One Direction

As fans will recall, Malik began his career in the hugely-successful boyband One Direction alongside Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, and Louis Tomlinson. The band was formed during the 2010 series of The X Factor UK, and following millions of record sales, sold-out world tours, and not one, but two big-screen releases, Malik decided to quit the band in 2015.

Speaking on Call Her Daddy, Malik gave insight into his decision to walk away from the best-selling group, revealing that “politics” within the band and strained friendships are what inspired his decision to leave. “I don’t want to go into too much detail, but there was a lot of politics going on. People were doing certain things, people didn’t want to sign contracts, so I knew something was happening,” he shared.

Recalling his One Direction years further, Malik added that he and his bandmates were “thrown into the deep end” during their early years together, but looked back on some of his experiences fondly. “I feel like we did a good job in terms of like, you know, the keeping it together and making the music that we were meant to make ... we’ve done crazy things with each other and that nobody else in the world will ever understand.”

The singer also disclosed that the band “didn’t have time to have anxiety or be nervous,” adding that he feels he “got out at the right time.” Malik continued: “I think if I had done it any longer it might have affected me a bit more.”

Zayn On Returning To Music

As for his much-anticipated return to music, Malik teased his new single “Love Like This” — which is set to drop on July 21. “It’s just a summer jam. It’s a good vibe. It just feels like summer,” he told Cooper, revealing that he’s feeling nervous about going onstage again after a break from performing.

“But I have this energy too, like I have something to give and I want to get on stage,” Malik explained, also praising his supportive fanbase, which he is “super grateful” for. “They’re always like ‘We’re here, we got you. Like when you’re ready, we’ve got you, we’ll come and listen to your tunes.’ .... I feel the love for sure. I’m ready to prove these people right.”