The news of Zayn Malik’s departure from One Direction came as a shocking one to the disappointed fans, however in his first interview since the announcement, the 22-year-old remains confident that he made the right decision.
Malik tells The Sun, as reported by People that the past few days have been “crazy and wild and a bit mad. But at the same time I’ve never felt more in control in my life. And I feel like I’m doing what’s right – right by myself and right by the boys, so I feel good.”
The singer also addressed rumors that he left because of undue tension between him and his bandmates:
“My band has been really supportive. They’ve been cool about it,” he says. “And they understand that, you know, it’s not real to me anymore.”
Malik further said:
“I did try to do something that I wasn’t happy doing for a while, for the sake of other people’s happiness,” he adds.
“I feel like I’ve let the fans down, but I can’t do this anymore,” Malik says. “It’s not that I’ve turned my back on them or anything; it’s just that I just can’t do that anymore because it’s not the real me.”
Photo Credit: Splash.Zayn Malik