The former One Direction star has struggled with an ongoing illness which has forced him to cancel shows.

Zayn Malik soared to fame as a teenager (Image: Daily Record.)

Zayn Malik soared to fame as a teenager after finding fame as a member of One Direction, one of the most popular boy bands in history. Formed on The X Factor UK in 2010, the British-Irish boy band quickly became a global sensation, releasing chart-topping albums and touring worldwide.

In 2015, Zayn, now 32, left the band, citing a desire for a more private life and artistic independence. He pursued a solo career, releasing his debut album Mind of Mine in 2016, which featured the hit single Pillowtalk.

However, Zayn has struggled with crippling anxiety and an eating disorder throughout his career, forcing him to cancel shows due to his poor mental health. In 2016, the star was forced to cancel an appearance at the Capital Summertime Ball due to his anxiety.

At the time, he wrote on social media: “Unfortunately my anxiety that has haunted me throughout the last few months around live performances has gotten the better of me… with the magnitude of the event, I have suffered the worst anxiety of my career… I know those who suffer with anxiety will understand and I hope those who don’t can empathise with my situation.”

He has also been open about suffering from an eating disorder, which he described as a “control thing”. In a 2017 interview with The Sunday Times’ Style Magazine, he said food was one of the only areas of his life he had control over.

Zayn found fame as a member of One Direction (Image: WireImage)
“Every area of my life was so regimented and controlled it was the one area where I could say, ‘No, I’m not eating that.’ Once I got over the control, the eating just came back into place, super naturally.”

He was forced to take a break from the spotlight, and said his eating disorder and anxiety became “demons of the past” thanks to spending more time at his mum’s home in Bradford. He said: “I came back to the UK and spent some time with my mum and got some TLC, and she cooked me food and I got back in touch, mentally, with a lot of the things I’d lost.”

Zayn performs in November 2024 (Image: Getty Images for ABA)

Since opening up about his mental health issues, Zayn has continued to speak out about them. In a November 2016 interview with ES magazine, the former One Direction member said: “For me to pretend that I didn’t have anxiety would be fake.

“I speak about it so that people understand that it doesn’t matter what level of success you have, where you’re from, who you are, what sex you are, what you do – you can still experience these things.”

Previously shying away from interviews, Zayn appeared in his first interview in six years in 2023, which he did thanks to his daughter, whom he co-parents with ex-partner Gigi Hadid.

Speaking with told Alex Cooper, host of Call Her Daddy podcast, he said: “I feel like we were so overexposed in the band that that’s why I took the time that I have to not even necessarily do interviews. Since I’ve had my daughter, the main thing in my mind is trying to be a good example to her.

“That’s why I’m even doing this interview, you know? I used to get a lot of anxiety around having a conversation like this. And I want her to be able to look at me and be like, ‘Yo, my dad’s doing this.’”

Speaking about the stereotypes of performing in a boy band, the singer added: “They just said, ‘Oh yeah, you can be the mysterious one.’ That wasn’t necessarily my personality, I’m just chill. I know that a lot of people have high-energy personalities, and it’s just not the way I am.”

Zayn Malik after the funeral service for One Direction singer Liam Payne at St Mary’s Church in Amersham, Buckinghamshire (Image: Andrew Matthews/PA)
One Direction recently mourned the loss of band member Liam Payne, who died on October 16 after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Zayn paid tribute to his bandmate Liam, saying he was “beyond devastated” and had “lost a brother”.

Zayn added: “I loved and respected you dearly. I will cherish all the memories I have with you in my heart forever, there is no words that justify or explain how I feel right now other than beyond devastated. I hope that wherever you are right now you are good and are at peace and you know how loved you are.”