Inside Zayn Malik’s turbulent love life branded ‘horrible’ by exes and riddled with ‘lies’, ‘deceit’ and ‘mistakes’

ZAYN Malik is finally back on UK soil after leaving for the US seven years ago and it’s bittersweet.

While the former One Direction star must be pleased to finally tour and show off his new sound, Zayn is also been left heartbroken over the passing of fellow bandmate Liam Payne, whose funeral was held last week.

while in the band, Zayne was branded the mysterious bad boy and his reputation still seems to follow him.

From dating (and cheating) with fellow X Factor contestants to having a bay with the world’s most sought-after supermodel – Zayn has wasted no time chasing girls.

But the now 31-year-old may be rethinking how he goes about his quest for love as they all seem to end with lighting the torches and pitchforks.

Zayn, who was often seen as the mysterious, quiet guy compared to his One Direction bandmates; Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Louis Thomlinson has often stayed quiet about the trials and tribulations in his love life.

But speaking to Zach Sang earlier this year for his latest album Room Under The Stairs, he was candid about his previous love affairs.

He said: “I don’t know if I’ve actually truly been in love at this point.

“I think love comes in many different forms. In love with somebody is a whole different kind of complicated… many different variables go into it.”

While Zayn admits he may not have ever been in love, relationship expert Annabelle Knight says: “Zayn Malik’s recent comments and his dating history suggest to me a complex relationship with intimacy and vulnerability.

“His statement about questioning whether he has “truly been in love” highlights his ability to self-reflect, but also reveals an emotional distance that might affect his relationships.”

Here, we look back at Zayn’s most infamous relationships back from when he was a young 17-year-old boy dreaming of being a star to now co-parenting his only child, Khai.

Geneva Lane

The pair briefly dated while they both appeared on the X Factor in 2010, with Geneva Lane being in the group Bella Amie.

The pair’s relationship was sworn to secrecy after Simon Cowell put a ban on dating on the show, but their romance was uncovered when they were captured kissing.

It’s unknown when the pair broke up, but it didn’t seem to end well as Geneva still had a sour taste in her mouth five years on when Zayn and Perrie Edward’s split was announced.

She wrote online: “Lol… Saw that coming. She deserves so much better than to be treated how she has for so long. So many lies and so much deceit. So wrong. She will come out strong.”

The scorned musician also slammed him as a “heartbreaker” in 2011, saying: “He told me he loved me and promised me the world.”

Rebecca Ferguson

Yet another X Factor contestant who feel for Zayn was Rebecca Ferguson when she was 24 and a mother-of-two while Zayn was just 18.

The two began dating while the show toured in 2011 but after just four months they split.

Rebecca has said she blames the public scrutiny on their break up, saying it was her “first mistake.”

Speaking to The Independent in 2013 she added: “I was 23, he was 18. Of course, if it was a 23-year-old guy dating an 18-year-old girl, no one would have batted an eyelid, but this way around was a big deal, apparently.

“I didn’t realise that. I was just a hippy, free-loving person, but that’s not a good thing to be in this industry. You can’t just follow your heart.”

The relationship pro says: “Experiences before or during puberty affect us in dramatic ways, finding fame so early could have shaped his outlook on trust and relationships.

“Constant public scrutiny could easily have made it difficult for Zayn to let others in, this behaviour would then become second nature and would almost certainly have bled into his romantic relationships too.”

She also recently admitted on Loose Women that she often footed the bill while they were together – paying for them to go to lavish restaurants despite the fact he was about to become one of the world’s biggest popstars.

Stephanie Davis 

The British actress and the popstar had a brief romance in 2011 but she claims to have ended it when Zayn was struggling with his rising fame.

While appearing on Celebirty Big Brother in 2016, she revealed the pair first spoke at the canteen at Lime Pictures, where Hollyoaks is filmed.

The pair were on the phone for three hours before meeting in person and beginning to date.

“He [wasn’t] happy, even when I was going out with him,” she said on the show. “I can’t believe he stuck it out for that long.”

“I ended it with him because at the time I was oblivious to that world,” she revealed. “And then I was out with the girls in town and he was calling me, calling me. I changed my number.”

“If we wanted to go and get some food we’d have to wait until four in the morning.

“Even if we went to Asda, there’d be girls and he was getting so angry with the situation. It’s like being in here but all the time.”

The relationship expert explains: “If Zayn hasn’t ever felt like he’s been “truly in love,” this would indicate to me that he’s still in search of a deeper sense of emotional connection, romantic fulfilment and the experience of true happiness with another person.

“It wouldn’t be unrealistic for Zayn to be emotionally wrestling with unresolved personal issues that prevent him from fully investing in his relationships.”

Perrie Edwards

It seemed 2011 was a busy year for Zayn who had already gone through two relationships before settling with Perrie Edwards, his final X Factor lover.

The pair dated from the end of 2011 to 2015 and even were engaged before Perrie was caught sobbing at the airport after he broke up with her via text.

Recalling her ‘lowest point’ Perrie said: “I was at the airport and I got an awful phone call, erm, from someone.

“And then I just… I just remember screaming in the airport.”

Jade Thirlwall explained: “She had a little mini breakdown in the airport.

“And it was in the security line, and so we thought: ‘Oh God’.”

“I was like a woman possessed!” Perried added.

“It was awful! It just blubbed and blubbed and I thought I was going to explode.”

“It was horrible, the worst time in my life,” she wrote in a excerpt from Little Mix’s book, Our World.

“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.”

Zayn has publicly denied ending their romance via text and in a recent interview with Nylon said: ““From 17 to 21, I was in a relationship. I was engaged and [planned to get] married and I didn’t know anything about anything at that point.”

“I thought I did, because I was 21. I was legally allowed to do everything, but I didn’t know sh*t.”

“His statement about love being “complicated” and having “many different variables” shows me that his view of love veers towards the analytical,” says Annabelle.

“Zayn could have a tendency to overthink or scrutinise his romantic relationships. This could lead to emotional detachment, and cause him to self-sabotage when challenges crop up.”

Gigi Hadid

It seems Zayn didn’t take long to get over the breakup with Perrie as in the same year he was spotted with supermodel Gigi Hadid.

Their relationship was confirmed when Zayn shared a picture of them hugging on Instagram, the following month she made an appearance in his debut music video Pillow Talk.

After three years together, the pair parted ways in 2018 with Zayn confirming the split in a statement.

He wrote: “Gigi and I had an incredibly meaningful, loving and fun relationship and I have a huge amount of respect and adoration for Gigi as a woman and a friend. She has such an incredible soul. I’m grateful to all of our fans for respecting this difficult decision and our privacy at this time … we love you all.”

A month later they were spotted kissing in New York and seemed to have an on and off again relationship until 2020 when they publicly announced they were back on.

In April of the same year they announced they were having a daughter together, Khai was born in September.

But just over a year later the pair split once again after gigi’s mum Yolanda accused Zayn of assaulting her.

The claims led to a brush with the law, as he entered a no contest plea to four charges of harassment.

These included allegations that he grabbed Yolanda and shoved her into a dresser and resulted in a sentence of 360 days of probation, as well as being ordered to complete anger management and domestic violence awareness programmes.

Speaking on the Call Her Daddy podcast, Zayn said this about the situation: “”I knew what the situation was, I knew what happened, and the people involved knew what happened too and that’s all I really cared about.

“If anybody of a sane mind would look at the situation, I believe you could respect that I just didn’t want to bring attention to anything, y’know? I wasn’t trying to get into a negative back and forth with her.”

Zayn told TMZ that he “adamantly den[ied] striking Yolanda Hadid.”

Despite the pair breaking up they both share custody of their daughter Khia and remain on good terms.

Annabelle says: “Despite having a child with Gigi Hadid, Zayn’s relationships often seem intense but short-lived.

“This pattern might reflect struggles with maintaining the emotional commitment and stability that is required for long-term and successful partnerships.”

Selena Gomez

Zayn has stayed rather low-key about his relationship with the US singer and actress Selena Gomez who he previously dated in 2023.

Not a lot is known about the pair and they’ve never publicly confirmed a romance – although it seems they may have fallen out after.

The Calm Down singer unfollowed Gigi, her sister and Zayn on Instagram, leaving fans speculating as to the reason why.

Shortly after, Zayn also unfollowed the signer on social media.

Annabelle adds: “Zayn’s attitude towards love and relationships seems to be entrenched in a desire to protect himself. His guardedness may unintentionally push people away.

“To build more lasting connections, Zayn might need to work through these barriers and explore what being vulnerable and emotionally available to another person means to him.”