Zayn Malik on Not Being in Love With Ex Gigi Hadid

However, at the time, Zayn, 33, shared that he did believe his feelings for Gigi—who has been dating Bradley Cooper since 2023—were deeper than he sees it now. 

“My understanding of love is always developing,” Zayn explained. “At that moment in time, I might have thought it was love, but as I got older I realized maybe it wasn’t. Maybe it was lust. Maybe it was this, maybe it was that. I don’t feel like it was love.”

Indeed, Zayn—who also had a high profile romance with Little Mix singer Perrie Edwards from 2012 to 2015—has now explored what life is like as a single adult, and he admitted, “I don’t find being alone scary.”

“No disrespect to all the past relationships I’ve been in,” Zayn shared. “No disrespect at all, it was freeing. I am that type of person who runs on my own clock, answers to myself. So, it was so freeing to me. I could just do things, make plans. Sleep until any time I want.”