By: Molly Silverman
Zayn Malik, 22, has made the decision to leave One Direction after five years. The other four members, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson, have decided to continue their world tour without Malik.
The band has posted official statements on their Facebook from Malik himself, the other four members of One Direction, and even Simon Cowell, who formed the band on The X Factor UK in 2010. Malik said that he is leaving because he “want[s] to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight.”
There have been many allegations as to why Malik quit, but those rumors did not deter his band mates from showing nothing but love for him. The band stated that they are “really sad to see Zayn go, but we totally respect his decision and send him all our love for the future.”
Many fans are concerned about what will happen to the band in the wake of all of this. There are a lot of unanswered questions that have been blowing up social media sites. Many want to know how the boys discussed this big decision and also want to know what the future for One Direction entails. The band said that they will be recording another album, but who knows if the fifth album will be the last one for One Direction?