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9 May 2024, 12:20 | Updated: 9 May 2024, 12:23
Sharing regrets about his time in One Direction, Zayn said that his daughter Khai helped him have a more positive outlook on life.
In recent years, Zayn has been more willing to talk about his time in One Direction. He chose to leave the band in 2015 and they eventually disbanded in 2016, just a year after his departure.
Ahead of his fourth album release, podcaster Zach Sang asked him: "Is there anything that you're grateful for today that you weren't initially?"
"The main thing that I always feel bad about is - when I look back over my life - is not enjoying the band enough," Zayn replied.
He said that while he was in 1D he "took things too seriously" and always looked at things with a "glass half empty" mindset. But now he actively chooses to see things as "glass half full" and accredited the shift in his mindset to his daughter.
In September 2020, Zayn and his then girlfriend Gigi Hadid welcomed their daughter Khai. "I feel like my daughter brought that back for me," he started, "like brought that colour back into my life."
Zayn explained how looking back at himself while he was in One Direction he felt he never truly tried to be happy, describing himself as a "negative cloud of energy".
The 'What I Am' singer explained: "I didn't understand the importance of just trying to be happy.
"I had this like teen angst thing going on, a chip on my shoulder where I'm like 'it's really cool to just be moody as f**k all the time', you know what I mean?
"And it's not, you're just a loser," he quipped.
So in summary Zayn's time in the band now allows him to now be grateful for the power of a positive mindset, that's pretty beautiful and his fans would agree.
One commented: "Zayn needs to send me the details to his therapist, cause I also want to be THIS level of healed."
Others said, "I love this new Zayn", "he's literally glowing", "this is what good therapy looks like" and "his daughter really brought him back, it's so sweet".
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