Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid epitomize what it's like to be young, famous, and in love,
but the couple's Hollywood romance is anything but average. From a broken engagement to a hidden
pregnancy, here are some of the stranger things about the pair's on and off love.
For two extremely famous people, fans certainly didn't see Zigi coming. According to
Cosmopolitan's timeline, the One Directioner broke off his engagement to fellow X Factor star Perrie
Edwards just three months before he was first spotted on a date with the supermodel — and there
was all the drama you'd expect from two celebs who were betrothed before their 23rd birthdays.
Throughout the relationship, Malik was the subject of numerous cheating rumors
reported by the Daily Mail — from a random Australian waitress to a mystery girl.
Hadid's path to Malik was slightly less tumultuous, but it was swift enough that
when she was first spotted with the singer, fans didn't even realize she'd split from Joe Jonas.
According to People magazine, Hadid and Jonas called it quits sometime around Halloween
in 2015. By November, Vogue had reported that she'd already gone on her first date with Malik.
After months of rumors, Hadid's new relationship made its public debut in
Malik's video for "Pillowtalk." As the Telegraph put it, the singer's solo debut was, quote, "an
x-rated version" of his former boy band that saw the star share steamy scenes with his new
boo. But about five months later, rumor had it the pair's romance was already on the rocks.
According to E!, the couple split in June 2016 after seven months of dating — but at the time,
a source claimed they could likely, quote, "get back together tomorrow." If they did quietly
split, they sorted it out pretty quickly behind the scenes. The following month,
Hadid confirmed via Instagram that the pair was still going strong.
Back then, Hadid and Malik regularly spoke about each other to the press, like when the
supermodel gushed about their first date in 2016 or when they posed together on the cover of Vogue
the year after. That all changed following their first confirmed breakup in March 2018.
Whatever happened with that split wasn't something that could be easily fixed in a matter of days.
Elle reports that they mostly decided to keep things quiet going forward. After that, they
barely spoke about their relationship until 2020, when Hadid mentioned "Z" during an Instagram Live.
Malik has been vocal about his struggles with anxiety.
In 2016, the Independent reported that he canceled two tour dates in three months,
citing his anxiety. This included a hometown gig at the Capital Summertime Ball, which became
a turning point. In his memoir, Malik revealed that he was suffering from "the worst anxiety"
of his entire career — and this was coming from someone whose song for 50 Shades Darker
was played incessantly for a good year. Anxiety just happens — and it doesn't always make sense.
Following the cancelation, Hadid published an open letter in support of her man,
but when his anxiety was still an issue a year later, the model allegedly started urging him
to quit the thing he loved most. According to an insider who spoke to Life & Style, Malik's panic
attacks were still so severe that he could "barely breathe or move," and Hadid asked him to, quote,
"take a year off to focus on himself" and quit touring altogether. The source added,
"He loves cooking, and it helps him relax, so Gigi suggested he pursue that more seriously."
It's quite a leap to go from a stage in front of thousands of fans to hiding in the kitchen.
But as we know now, Malik never gave up. In 2020, he released a video for his song "Better."
Malik and Hadid's 2018 split was for real. The pair issued joint statements, and while they
went their separate ways and focused on healing, Malik was stuck with an unfortunate reminder.
As Harper's Bazaar pointed out, the former One Directioner was stuck with a tattoo of Hadid's
eyes square across his chest. In other words: every time he stood in a mirror shirtless, his
ex was staring back. To make matters even more awkward, Malik had already unfollowed both Gigi
and her sister Bella Hadid on Instagram. They didn't appear to be on good terms.
This isn't the first time Malik was stuck with a tattoo of a former flame. The singer also inked
a portrait of Little Mix's Perrie Edwards before calling off the engagement. According
to Cosmopolitan, he got that one covered up, but thankfully, Malik didn't have to go through that
process with the eyeball ink. The pair reunited, though the timeline isn't completely clear.
Hadid and Malik's relationship wasn't always so black and white. There was a time where
they weren't broken up, but they weren't exactly together — at least, that's what they told the
press. Following their 2018 split, Malik revealed in a GQ cover profile that they were "still really
good friends" and "still in contact," which was just about the understatement of the century.
At the time, paparazzi regularly caught the pair together — even kissing. Malik had recently
purchased a farm in rural Pennsylvania, not far from the Hadid's family farm.
In fact, Gigi's mom, Yolanda Hadid, was the one who gave him the recommendation.
So, what was their relationship status? It seems like he wasn't even sure. Malik admitted,
"We're adults. We don't need to put a label on it, make it something for people's expectations."
Hadid and Malik rekindled their romance soon after Hadid had a short-lived fling with
The Bachelorette contestant Tyler Cameron. In February 2020, she officially confirmed their
relationship with a Valentine's Day Instagram post. Two months later, TMZ revealed that the
couple were expecting a child — and Hadid had been hiding the secret for about 20 weeks.
Though Gigi's mom confirmed her daughter's pregnancy to a Dutch magazine not long after
TMZ's report, Gigi managed to keep her baby bump hidden for much longer. In fact, no one
got a real glimpse of her tummy until August, when she posted maternity photos on Instagram.
According to Elle magazine, the model claimed that she had been strategically placing clothing
to create "an optical illusion" prior to her revealing post. She also admitted during
an Instagram Live that she chose not to gush because of the state of the world. She explained,
"Obviously a lot of people have lost lives due to coronavirus. That was
in the beginning of quarantine and still happening. And then we moved
obviously into the reemergence of the [Black Lives Matter] movement."
"I thought that our presence on social media should be used for that."
Despite the pair's ups and downs, a baby was always the plan. A source that spoke to Us
Weekly claimed Hadid "always wanted to start a family" with the former One Directioner,
but they just went about it a little differently than most.
Hadid forwent the hospital and reportedly gave birth at home.
According to Page Six, the model had a homebirth in mid-September at the rural Pennsylvania farm
where she'd been quarantining with Malik since May. This was ultra-convenient for her mother,
who lives nearby. Though the pair did confirm the birth
happened, they haven't shared too many details. In a Twitter post, Malik gushed,
"The love I feel for this tiny human is beyond my understanding. Grateful to know her,
proud to call her mine, & thankful for the life we will have together."
Throughout Malik and Hadid's very up and down relationship, one thing never faltered:
the couple's love. Yes, even when she took that unexpected detour with Tyler Cameron. According to
Us Weekly, Malik "couldn't be more excited" to be the father of Hadid's child. A source explained,
"Even when there were times that they weren't a couple, the love was still very much there."
This isn't just evident in Hadid's unyielding support. Malik fiercely defended the model even
when they were on the outs. In April 2019, Hadid found herself the subject of numerous
dating rumors that linked her to Selena Gomez's ex boyfriend Samuel Krost, which would've meant
she broke girl code. But it wasn't true, and Malik went on a profanity-filled Twitter rant defending
the model's name. According to Harper's Bazaar, it kicked off after an initial tweet where he wrote,
"You aren't the person you said you were."
Fans believed he was referencing his split from Hadid, and he quickly set them straight, saying,
"My tweet was not about [Hadid] so leave her the f--- alone. She is the most amazing woman
I've ever known and does nothing but love and support me when lord knows I don't deserve it.
So if you have anything to say [tweet] me and I'll put you the f--- straight."
Talk about fighting words!
Malik and Hadid have never been one to cave into social norms,
but that doesn't stop the rumor mill when it comes to a possible wedding. According to Elle,
fans think marriage is right around the corner. Did the pair get engaged without fans knowing?
The main source of the rumors comes from Malik's new tattoo,
which was spotted in an Instagram story from a jeweler who shared matching evil eye bracelets
that he made for Hadid and Malik. Malik's arm now bears the poem "On Marriage," which is
something regularly read at — you guessed it — weddings, and Malik has shared it in the past.
If an engagement is on the horizon, we'll just have to wait and see. Hadid was very
quiet about her pregnancy, and we expect that she'll be the same when she's betrothed.
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