Zayn Malik Opens Up About Leaving One Direction & Co-Parenting with Ex Gigi Hadid

Zayn Malik is speaking out about his decision to walk away from One Direction at the height of their fame.

"There was a lot of — look I don't want to go into too much detail, but there was a lot of politics going on," Malik said on the July 12 episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast.

"Certain people were doing certain things, certain people didn't want to sign contracts, so I knew something was happening, so I just got ahead of the curve. I was like, ‘I'm just going to get out of here. I think this is done.'"

Malik, who debuted with the band in 2010 along with Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson — and left after five years — said he got to a point where he felt he was ready to take control of his career on his own terms.

"I completely selfishly wanted to be the first person to go and make my own record, if I'm being completely honest with you. I was like, 'I'm going to jump the gun here for the first time.'"

The singer, who is the father of 2-year-old daughter Khai with ex-girlfriend Gigi Hadid, describes himself as being more forward in his personality with regards to his music career.

"I'm serious about it and I'm competitive, so I wanted to be the first to go and do my own thing," he said. “That was the reason — and then there was obviously underlying issues, like within our friendships, too."

The “X Factor” alum also addressed a 2021 incident with his ex’s mother, Yolanda Hadid. He and Gigi split up after reports he had gotten into an argument with Yolanda at the Pennsylvania home he shared with her daughter. A police report obtained by E! News at the time said Malik was accused of “intent to harass, annoy or alarm” Gigi (who was not home at the time) and Yolanda, while reportedly communicating "lewd, lascivious, threatening or obscene words."

Zayn denied all accusations, responding with a statement about being adamant to protect their daughter by giving her “the privacy she deserves.”

Reflecting on the situation now, the “Pillowtalk” singer told podcast host Alex Cooper that he still stands by his words.

"I knew what the situation was, I knew what happened, and the people involved knew what happened, too. And that's all I really cared about. If anybody of the same mind would look at the situation, I believe that you could respect that I just didn't want to bring attention to anything. I just wasn't trying to get into a negative back and forth with her — any sort of narrative online where my daughter was going to look back and be able to read into it and it would just be something, there was no point."

Malik said believes he handled the incident "in an amicable, respectful way.”

He also noted how important privacy is for him. "If something happens in the family, like, I'd rather keep that between the family. You don't need a whole audience of people and opinions because it's hard enough to manage between two."

Speaking about his co-parenting with Gigi, Zayn, who shares equal custody of their daughter, said they have a “really good” bond.