Additional Coverage:
- Zayn Malik sparks criticism for admitting he was ‘never in love’ with Gigi Hadid throughout six-year relationship (the-independent.com)
Zayn Malik’s Relationship Revelation Sparks Fan Frenzy
Former One Direction heartthrob Zayn Malik has set tongues wagging and social media ablaze with his recent candid admission regarding his past relationship with supermodel Gigi Hadid. The 33-year-old singer, who shares five-year-old daughter Khai with Hadid, 30, was in a six-year on-again, off-again romance with the fashion icon from late 2015 to 2021.
During an appearance on the popular podcast Call Her Daddy with host Alex Cooper, Malik offered a reflective and perhaps surprising perspective on his time with Hadid. “At that moment in time, I might have thought it was love, but as I got older, I realized maybe it wasn’t,” he confessed to Cooper.
“Maybe it was lust, maybe it was this, maybe it was that. I don’t feel like it was love.”
He was quick to clarify his enduring respect for Hadid, stating, “And to be fair, just to say this on record, I will always love G because she is the reason my child is on this earth, and I have the utmost respect for her. I have so much respect for this woman, and I do love her a crazy amount. But yeah, no, but I don’t think I was in love with her at that point.”
Malik elaborated that his definition of love is “always developing,” suggesting that while the relationship may have felt like love to him at the time, his current perspective differs.
Unsurprisingly, these comments have ignited a firestorm among fans. Many took to social media to criticize Malik, arguing that such personal insights, especially concerning a six-year relationship and a shared child, should not have been aired publicly.
“Zayn Malik said publicly he doesn’t know if he was in love with Gigi Hadid. I’m sorry but what?”
one user questioned on X. Another commenter echoed the sentiment, calling it “a terrible thing to say publicly about someone you were with for six years.”
A third expressed empathy for Hadid, writing, “Imagine Gigi sitting at home hearing that her 20s were basically a ‘misunderstanding’ of his feelings. There is being honest with yourself, and then there is being unnecessary.”
One particularly pointed post, accompanied by a GIF of a cringing Lucille Ball, stated, “The fact that Zayn Malik doubled down basically saying the only reason he respects and ‘loves’ Gigi Hadid is because he knocked her up and she had his child.”
However, not everyone was critical. Some fans appreciated Malik’s transparency, praising his “very honest take on love and growth.” One X user described his comments as “a raw, reflective insight into past relationships and the ways people grow over time.”
As of press time, Malik’s representatives have been contacted for further comment.