Although there may have been several contributing factors, the breakup of One Direction began with the abrupt departure of band member, Zayn Malik.
After 5 years of international fame and success the British boy band, One Direction (1D), announced their extended hiatus in August 2015. The group formed on the UK version of The X Factor in 2010 after auditioning as five solo artists, however, it was Zayn Malik who first decided to leave the band in early 2015. The remaining four members released one final album together, before pursuing their own projects.
It was expected that the hiatus would last 18 months, though as of 2020, the band remains separated. Many sources speculate that the band has split permanently as a result of the members growing apart over the years.
Differences
In his first official interview with the Fader after leaving the band, Zayn expressed how vastly different his musical tastes were to his fellow bandmates. The expectations of the band’s music style often put him at odds with the management, suggesting that the music 1D produced was fake and generic.
“As much as we were the biggest, most famous boy band in the world, it felt weird. We were told to be happy about something that we weren’t happy about,” he told the Fader.
Feeling disconnected from the band’s music, Zayn felt it was his time to step back from stardom in March 2015. Despite the news being a huge shock to fans, Zayn said in a statement, “I have to do what feels right in my heart”.
Watch the band responding to Zayn’s departure on The Late Late Show with James Cordon, below.
Rumors
Leading up to his exit, Zayn’s personal life was often under intense scrutiny from the press, although he did not claim these were the specific reasons for his leaving.
Just days before his exit, Zayn was photographed hugging UK Love Island contestant, Lauren Richardson, in a nightclub in Thailand. Zayn was forced to publicly apologize on Twitter to his then-fiancée, Perrie Edwards.
Soon after, a girl he met whilst the band were on tour in Thailand, claimed that she had an affair with Zayn, which he strongly denied.
It is also thought that a rift occurred between Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson in the early years of One Direction, as well as rumors that the pair were secretly dating – a claim which they have both repeatedly denied.
