Zayn Malik on how his daughter changed him, co-parenting with Gigi Hadid, molestation allegations 2021

the previous A direction The band member caught up with Cooper at her parents’ house – also in Pennsylvania – for a very relaxed chat that covered a wide range of topics, from his upbringing to breaking into the limelight with 1D to leaving the group and trying to make his own find as a solo artist and individual in the years that followed.

They also touched his daughter Khai. Malik announces the two and a half year old Gigi Hadid and said he currently has a shared custody split with her following their split in October 2021.

As it turns out, the breakup was far from amicable at the time, although Malik now says “co-parenting is good.” “We have a really good relationship with Khai,” he told Cooper. “She is the most important thing.”

At the time of their split, things were reportedly a lot more volatile TMZ reported that Malik did not contest four separate allegations of harassment. There were allegations that he attacked Gigi’s mother Yolandaeven shoved her into a dresser once (he denied any physical contact at the time).

He was sentenced to a fine with conditions including 360 days probation and classes in anger management and domestic violence. Cooper, who has positioned herself as an advocate for women with her podcast, addressed the incident, albeit cautiously, towards the end of the podcast.

Malik previously said that he doesn’t actually care what the public or the media think of him, preferring to focus on those who are directly a part of his life. He repeated these sentiments in his reply.

“I tend not to interfere when people say things online, whether it’s related to me or not, because to me, time is the most precious thing in life and it takes so much.” It took me a lot of time in a toxic environment to explain and justify myself to people,” he explained, “so I’m just keeping to myself.”

“I knew what the situation was, I knew what was happening and the people involved knew what was happening,” he explained. “And that’s all I really care about.”

Asked why he basically hasn’t commented on the public discourse at all, even though his name and character have been put on the back burner, Malik said a major factor on his mind is his daughter. “I just wasn’t trying to get into a negative back-and-forth with her, some kind of online narrative that my daughter would look back at and read that and be able to read into,” he explained. “It would just be something that would make no sense.”

Cooper didn’t press him for specifics, but did note that the fact that he has a full custody agreement with Hadid over their daughter and his time with Khai isn’t overseen says a lot about how things stand between Malik and the former Married couple.

“I think I handled things the best I could, in a friendly and respectful way, and that’s all that needs to be said,” he said. “I feel like there’s a lot of negativity.”

These days, Malik is all about focusing on positive connections with Khai. He shares that while he’s busy writing and recording new music, he doesn’t work at all the fifty percent of the time he has his daughter.

“The time I spend with her is so important because I feel like she’s growing up so quickly,” he said. “So when I’m with her, I don’t work at all. I just spend a whole day with her and do the things that she wants to do like paint, play-doh, this, that, go to the park, go to the amusement park, go to the zoo, we just have fun .”

“I feel like through her I rekindled my own childhood,” he added. “I feel like we reach a certain point in adult life where everything is vague, gray and boring, and she brought that color back to me.”

He also credits his daughter for helping him better manage and control his fears, and is particularly concerned about what he wants her to see in him as a role model and father. “I can do things and I can achieve things, I can overcome things and so can you,” he said.

“After having a baby, letting things like feeling hold you back feels like a really small thing. I feel like I have to come out as a man, as a person and be a role model for her that doesn’t. “I’m not going to succumb to these feelings,” he continued, noting that even this interview was a part of that process.

“I used to be very scared of having a conversation like this in an environment like this, and I want her to be able to look at me and say, ‘Hey, my dad does that, you know, he’s the man.'” He is cool, he’s a cool guy,” he explained. “That definitely helped me a lot.”

But he’s also aware that he wants to keep her out of the elevated limelight that he experienced for so many years when he was young. He’s not trying to protect her from his fame because he assumes she’ll find out anyway, but rather he wants to “give her an option.”

Malik was adamant that he would support his daughter no matter what she decides to do with her life, but he also proclaimed that the apple might not fall far from the tree when it comes to musical talent. They love singing and making music together and he marvels at their talents at such a young age.

“For example, I sing and she sings along. She’s got good harmonies and stuff and she’s only two and a half,” he said with a smile. “She gets along well with me and finishes notes, and she can keep them for a long time. I think you might have a bit of talent, you.”

He even said she has the ability to memorize “the full lyrics of a song, every word.” Though the door is wide open, she may well be destined to follow in her daddy’s footsteps when it comes to the gifts she already has.

She is already serving as inspiration for his new album. Malik teased that his new release has “a different sound” than his fans are used to, with more narrative elements based on his real-life experiences, and teased that his “daughter was mentioned there a few times.” “.

Malik will release “Love Liked This,” the debut single from his new album, on July 21. He has not yet announced the name or release date of the full album.