Are Zayn Malik And Harry Styles Still Friends?

November 13, 2022

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One Direction was the most popular band in the 2010s. They broke records, garnered millions of fans, and were probably the most significant band for teens growing up at that time. But regrettably, the band split up just nine months after Zayn Malik abruptly quit the group in March 2015. Even though Malik referred to his former bandmates—Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Niall Horan—as “friends for life” in his farewell letter, drama soon broke out between the individuals, leading many fans to question whether the group was as close as they had all shown themselves to be while they were together.

Over time, two members of 1D, Zayn and Harry, have created conversations about if they’re on good terms after the split or not. So where do Zayn and Harry actually stand?

Harry Styles Gets Candid About Zayn Malik LEAVING One Direction

The Nature Of Zayn Malik And Harry Styles’ Bond

Back in July 2015, there was the first indication that Zayn Malik and the rest of One Direction might not be getting along. When Malik tweeted that it was time to record “real music” after signing with RCA Records, it seemed like he was making fun of his former bandmates.

Then, in September 2017, Malik told US Weekly that he and Harry Styles hardly communicated while being in the band together “To be honest, I never really spoke to Harry even when I was in the band. So I didn’t really expect that much of a relationship with him,” he said.

Later, in November 2017, Malik repeated his viewpoint. “Our relationships have definitely changed since we were in a band together, but I think that’s just life,” he confessed to Billboard, adding, “Everybody grows up; two of the guys have got kids now. But no, I don’t talk to any of them, really.”

He referred to the difficult connection he had with his former bandmates and the snide comments made behind his back. The musician said, “There’s things that happen and things that were said after I left… Snide things. Small things that I would never have expected. That’s just the way it is. People move on, people grow apart, people grow up.”

Although Malik didn’t name the exact band member who made such remarks, it was obvious that the mere fact that they were made had a negative impact on his friendship with all the boys.

What Has Harry Said About Zayn?

Unlike Malik, Styles largely avoided discussing his former bandmate. That was before his
November 16, 2019, appearance on ‘Saturday Night Live‘.

Styles gave a retrospect of his time in One Direction during his opening monologue. “I love those guys. They’re my brothers….Niall, Liam, Louis…” He then took a moment to pretend he’d forgotten Malik’s name. Instead of Zayn, Styles then said “Ringo”, the drummer for The Beatles.

We’re taking things to the next level with @Harry_Styles. #HarryOnSNL pic.twitter.com/25Ln0FJCTb
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) November 17, 2019

Later, in an interview with Zane Lowe, Styles talked about Malik’s unexpected departure from the band and the devastating impact it made on him. “It was kind of like we were sad, obviously, that someone had left, but also sad that he was not enjoying it so much that he had to leave,” he said. “We were about to start recording a new album and stuff and it was like, ‘Are we recording this without him?’ But I’d say in the moment, I guess the four of us became closer because we were like, ‘OK, this is a hurdle that we weren’t expecting.'”

Also, in an interview with E! News, Styles stated, “I don’t know if I could say it’s something he shouldn’t have done. I just didn’t feel that way. So, it’s hard for me to condemn it, ’cause I don’t.”

The ‘Matilda‘ singer continued and said, “Especially in hindsight looking at it now, the last thing that I would’ve wanted is for him to have stayed there if he didn’t want to be there,”

It’s devastating for the fans to see these exchanges between the two artists, and seeing the way they’ve communicated in the past, we can’t expect them to be on very good terms. The silver lining here is probably that they’ve never said anything cheeky about each other. We just hope we get to see them together sometime, in the future.