His life as part of one of the world’s biggest boy bands may have looked enviable to many, but in his soon-to-be-released autobiography, former One Direction star Zayn Malik is opening up about the dark truth behind his last days in the group.
In quotes obtained by The Sun, Zayn reveals he was suffering from a serious eating disorder – something he has never opened up about in public before.
Zayn has opened up about suffering an eating disorder while he was in One Direction. Photo: Getty
“When I look back at images of myself from around November 2014, before the final tour, I can see how ill I was,” he writes.
“It wasn’t as though I had any concerns about my weight or anything like that, I’d just go for days – sometimes two or three days straight – without eating anything at all. It got quite serious, although at the time I didn’t recognise it for what it was.
“I had lost so much weight I had become ill. The workload and the pace of life on the road put together with the pressures and strains of everything going on within the band had badly affected my eating habits,” he said.
Zayn – pictured here in November 2014 making his way to the Jimmy Kimmel Live show – has said he would go days without eating anything.
Zayn has previously opened up about his struggles with anxiety, revealing it led to him cancelling a much anticipated gig in June at London’s Capital Summertime Ball.
“I know those who suffer anxiety will understand and I hope those who don’t can empathise with my situation,” he said in a statement posted on Twitter.
The ‘Pillow Talk’ singer left One Direction in March last year, shocking many of the band’s devoted fans.
Watch Zayn talk about wanting to leave the band in the video below. Story continues below.
“I have to do what feels right in my heart. I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight,” he explained in a statement.
The 23-year-old split from his fiancée, Little Mix singer Perrie Edwards, shortly after – a conversation she says happened via text.
In the girl band’s own memoir entitled Our World, Perrie wrote: “It was horrible, the worst time in my life. A four-year relationship, two-year engagement ended by a simple text message.”
Zayn has since denied Perrie’s version of the story, telling Fader that he had “more respect” for his former fiancée “than to end anything over text message”.
Perrie (second from left) called her breakup with Zayn “the worst time” in her life. Photo: Getty
Zayn is now dating model Gigi Hadid. Photo: Getty
