Zayn Malik says he was never in love with Gigi Hadid: 'Maybe it was lust'
Zayn Malik says he was never in love with Gigi Hadid: 'Maybe it was lust'
Anthony Robledo, USA TODAYThu, February 12, 2026 at 4:41 AM UTC
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Zayn Malik is offering insight into his former relationship with Gigi Hadid.
In a Feb. 11 episode of the "Call Her Daddy" podcast, the "One Direction" alum explained that, as his understanding of love has evolved, he is unsure whether he ever truly fell for the fashion model.
"Maybe it was lust, maybe it was this, maybe it was that. I don't feel like it was love. To be fair, just to have this on the 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," he told host Alex Cooper. "I will always love her, but I don’t know if I was in love with her."
He continued: "I felt like when I [first] said it, I think people took it a tap away. So I’m just like, I have so much respect for this woman and I do love her, a crazy amount, but no. I don’t think I was in love with her at that point, otherwise I would’ve been a better version of myself."
Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid attend the 2016 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 2, 2016, in New York City.
Malik and Hadid first started dating in 2015 but officially split in October 2021. The two co-parent their five-year-old daughter, Khai.
The "Pillow Talk" singer echoed that he has only respect for all his previous partners, but is happy to be single.
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"No disrespect at all, it was freeing. I am that type of person who runs on my own clock, answers to myself. So, it was so freeing to me. I could just do things, make plans. Sleep until any time I want," he said.
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That being said, he feels he has grown as a person through his past relationships, adding, "You live and learn from it, but this way, there’s no guilt."
He added that parenting and his career make it challenging to find time to date and that he would have to be willing to marry someone new before Khai meets them.
"I would have to be very serious about that woman and maybe plan on marrying her before I introduce her to my daughter," he added.
Malik is set to drop his new album "Konnakol" on April 17 and released the first single off the project, "Die For Me," on Friday, Feb. 6.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Zayn Malik explains why he doubts he was in love with Gigi Hadid
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
