Member Since: 5/27/2016
Posts: 2,398
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Zayn for Evening Standard Magazine
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Malik, 23, quit last year after missing several live shows because of stress. This week he revealed he suffered from an eating disorder as well as anxiety during his time with the band, which rose to fame after finishing third on X Factor and signing to Simon Cowell’s Syco label.
Talking to ES Magazine about that time, Malik said: ‘I was very ignorant at 17 — blind beyond my years. I thought going on X Factor meant you won a million pounds and got a contract at the end of it.
“And I was like, ‘Shit. All my problems are solved. I win a million pounds and that’s it. Simple.’ But you don’t think about everything else that goes with it. You’re only 17, your dreams are immature.”
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Asked what advice he would give his 17-year-old self, he replied “don’t do it”, but then added: “I would say, ‘Do your research and be a bit more prepared about certain situations before you make a decision.’ ”
Asked if he would still have signed up with the knowledge he has now, he said he was grateful for everything he had as a result, “But I probably wouldn’t have [signed] — I would’ve waited a couple more extra years. Just so I had that time to just get my head around being a famous person. I’ve never been able to have, what’s the word? Anonymity. If I could go back, I’d have a few more years of anonymity.”
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Malik, who is dating American model Gigi Hadid, said his family in Bradford kept him grounded. ‘My mum brought me up as a feminist,” he added. “Three sisters, five aunties and a mum — not a hope.”
He also spoke about growing up in the city at the time of the 2001 race riots. Coming from a mixed-race family, he said did not see race, colour or religion and was confused when other people did. He sometimes got into fights, which he said “nine times out of 10 ... were due to racial things”.
“I never really dwelled on this in the past, but I do believe it is something that people should know — this is who I am, this is where I’ve come from,” he added.
It’s not so much that it hurts — it’s what builds you as a person. What you learn from that. I have an understanding of certain issues.”
‘I want people to see the good side to me and, yeah, the emotional stress of maybe not fulfilling that is a lot sometimes,’ he says. ‘Anxiety is something people don’t necessarily want to advertise because it’s seen, in a way, like a weakness. I speak about it so that people understand that it doesn’t matter what level of success you have, where you’re from, who you are, what sex you are, what you do — you can still experience these things.
‘For me to pretend that I didn’t have anxiety would be fake. It also helps people understand why I behave in a certain way. Sometimes things get in the way of us doing exactly what we want. I never mean to offend. It’s an uncontrollable thing that I can’t do anything about.’ He’s turned down opportunities as a result. ‘Sometimes I won’t go heads in with something that could be really beneficial because I don’t feel comfortable.’
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‘I was lucky that my mum and dad would always explain it to me: “This is just the way it is, this is some people’s belief, this is the way that they’ve been brought up. You’re brought up differently so you’ve got to respect everybody and hope that people respect you in return.”’
He’s very forgiving, putting some of the racism down to ‘just very old-fashioned views: there’s a lot of old people there and they’re stuck in their ways’.
Does he smoke weed? ‘Weed is also a part of my life for certain things,’ he admits. ‘I find it helps me be creative. Some people say it kills your ambition, some people say it destroys your personality. Personally I haven’t had any of them experiences yet.’ Does he smoke it for breakfast? He shrugs and grins. ‘I don’t think I’m allowed to specify — don’t get me arrested.’
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http://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/ce...-a3384596.html
http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/...-a3385611.html
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He's perfect. Too bad he's a cheater