Zayn is opening up about his life and career.
The singer and former One Direction member appeared on the video podcast "Call Her Daddy," where he talked about everything from being a member of the hugely successful boy band to co-parenting with model Gigi Hadid.
The interview -- his first in nearly six years -- was conducted in host Alex Cooper's childhood home in Pennsylvania. Zayn lives in the state now, too, prompting Cooper to ask, "Why Pennsylvania?"
"A lot of people ask me that. They always think it's super random that I live out here," he said. "I'd been coming out here with my ex [Hadid] a bit...I feel in love with it. It's like super calm and chill. I just wanted to take a break from the busy scene."
He and Hadid are parents to a young daughter. The couple split in October 2021.
Zayn shares equal custody of the toddler and said becoming a father has changed him, even helping his anxiety.
"Since I've had my daughter, the main thing in my mind is trying to be a good example to her," he told Cooper. "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, 'My dad's doing this.'"
Becoming super famous, along with his friends Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson as part of One Direction, did not help his anxiety.
He was the first to leave the group in 2015 and said that was intentional.
"I completely selfishly wanted to be the first person to make their own record," Zayn explained.
"I was like, 'I'm going to jump the gun here for the first time,'" he said. "I'm passive but when it comes to my music and my business. I'm serious about it and I'm competitive. I wanted to be the first to go and do my own thing."
Zayn also shed some light on what was going on at the time with the group that officially went on hiatus months after he left.
"There was obviously underlying issues within our friendships too," he said. "We'd been together every day for five years and we got sick of each other, if I'm being completely honest."
He released his debut album, "Mind Of Mine," in 2016.
"It's a very different experience standing by yourself on stage," he said, telling Cooper it came with its own pressures.
