Zayn Malik's major regret after Perrie Edwards relationship ended

One Direction star Zayn Malik has candidly opened up about his previous engagement to Little Mix's Perrie Edwards, nearly ten years after the couple went their separate ways.

Zayn, who is now 31, was in a high-profile relationship with Perrie, currently aged 30, from 2012 until their split in 2015. The pair, who both rose to stardom through the X Factor, were engaged before calling it quits after over three years together.

The former One Direction member, who exited the band just before his break up with Perrie, has reflected on that period of his life. He admitted to Nylon magazine that back then he "didn't know s***" and had made hasty decisions, reports the Mirror.

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Referring to his time with Perrie, Zayn shared that from the age of 17 to 21, he was deeply involved in the relationship. He confessed: "I was engaged and [planned to get] married and I didn't know anything about anything at that point."

At 21, despite being of legal age for many commitments, he realised his lack of real-world knowledge, stating: "I was legally allowed to do everything, but I didn't know sh*t."

According to the publication, Zayn suggests that his attempts at a normal young adult life were influenced by the constraints of fame. He reminisced about his simpler days in Bradford, where he "never really had a girlfriend" or "brought a girlfriend home" before his life was transformed by celebrity.

He shared: "When I got the chance to do that, I jumped straight in, two feet first, and was like, 'I'm going to have a girlfriend, and she's going to live with me." Zayn also mentioned that he believed this made him a "grown man".

Zayn later embarked on what has been termed an "on-and-off relationship" with model Gigi Hadid, now 29. The former pair, who split in 2021, share a three year old daughter named Khai. He hinted that he "didn't really take much time to get to know [himself]" by entering another long-term relationship after his romance with Perrie.

Perrie has previously implied that Zayn ended their relationship via a text message. The Little Mix member is believed to have written about the relationship in the group's book Our World, published in 2016.

She described it as the "worst time" in her life, adding: "A four-year relationship, two year engagement ended by a simple text message. Just like that. Even though things in my career were going really well, it was incredibly difficult for me."

Rumours had already circulated about the situation, but Zayn seemed to dismiss them before the book's release. He told Fader in 2015: "I have more respect for Perrie than to end anything over text message. I love her a lot, and I always will, and I would never end our relationship over four years like that. [...] I don't want to explain why or what I did, I just want the public to know I didn't do that."

Prior to the announcement of their split, there were allegations that Zayn had been unfaithful to his then-fiancee Perrie while on holiday. However, a representative for Zayn refuted these claims at the time.

In a recent interview, Zayn revealed that he is now single for "the first time" in his life and feels "really content and happy". Meanwhile, Perrie is engaged to footballer Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, 30, and they have a two year old son named Axel.