Zayn Malik in 2017Zayn Malik is looking back on his high-profile relationship with Little Mix star Perrie Edwards.
The former One Direction singer dated Perrie between 2011 and 2015, with Zayn popping the question in 2013.
Almost a decade on from their split, Zayn has admitted he was still rather naive about things during their whirlwind romance.
“From 17 to 21, I was in a relationship,” the singer recalled of his fellow X Factor alum in a new interview with Nylon.
“I was engaged and [planned to get] married and I didn’t know anything about anything at that point,” he said.
“I thought I did, because I was 21. I was legally allowed to do everything, but I didn’t know shit.”
Zayn and Perrie at Disneyland Paris in 2014The same year he split with the Forget About Us singer, Zayn started dating Gigi Hadid, and the two were in something of an on-again, off-again relationship for many years.
Zayn and Gigi welcomed a daughter, Khai, in September 2020, before breaking up for good a year later.
“From 21 to 27, I was with Gi, and we had a kid, and I didn’t really take much time to get to know myself,” he told the publication.
Perrie, meanwhile, is now engaged to ex-Liverpool footballer Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, with whom she welcomed a son, Axel, in 2021.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Perrie Edwards at the Brits in 2019Zayn and his One Direction bandmates Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne placed third on The X Factor in 2010, losing out to Matt Cardle, while Little Mix won their series the following year, the first time a group had ever won the show.
Last year, the Pillowtalk singer opened up about the reasons behind his decision to leave One Direction in his first interview in six years.
Speaking on the Call Her Daddy podcast, Zayn explained that he chose to quit the band in 2015 because of “politics going on”.
Zayn is currently gearing up for the release of his new album Room Under The Stairs later this week, which follows 2021’s Nobody Is Listening.
