Why did One Direction break up? From Zayn Malik’s departure to final hiatus

One Direction is one of the most successful boybands in history, with Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson becoming global superstars.

The band was formed in 2010, with Simon Cowell and Nicole Scherzinger grouping them together following their separate auditions on The X Factor. The group quickly became popular and they managed to progress all the way to the finals, before being eliminated in third place.

After the hit ITV show, One Direction released a total of five albums, sold 70 million records and won over 200 separate awards. In 2015, the band lost member Zayn Malik when he decided to step back from the group.

Although the remaining four continued on, the group would eventually go on an indefinite hiatus in 2016 with all members of the group embarking on solo careers.

© Ken McKay/Talkback Thames/Shutterstock

On 16 October 2024, the band sadly lost member Liam Payne, when the singer fell from a hotel balcony in Argentina. The remaining members of the group released a joint statement and their own individual messages following the surprise death.

Find out why the band decided to break apart here…

Zayn’s departure

One Direction went from a five-piece band to a four-piece one on 25 March 2015, during their On the Road Again Tour. In a statement, Zayn explained: “I’d like to apologise to the fans if I’ve let anyone down, but I have to do what feels right in my heart.

“I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight. I know I have four friends for life in Louis, Liam, Harry and Niall. I know they will continue to be the best band in the world.”

© Dave J Hogan

In an interview with the BBC in 2023, Zayn admitted he had an ulterior motive to leaving the group, saying: “I just seen it [coming] and I completely selfishly wanted to be the first person to go and make my own record. If I’m being completely honest with you, I was like, ‘I’m going to jump the gun here’.

“I’m a passive dude, but when it comes to my music and my business, I’m serious about it and I’m competitive, so I wanted to be the first to go and do my own thing. That was the reason.”

© WWD

Despite rumours of a feud between bandmates, Zayn downplayed this, adding: “We were close, you know? We’d done crazy things with each other that nobody else in the world will ever understand and I look back on it now in a much fonder light than I would have [when] I’d just left.

“There were great experiences, I had great times with them, but we’d just run our course.”

Hiatus

One Direction continued without Zayn and released their first album as a foursome, Made In The A.M. on 13 November. However, a few months before the release, the group confirmed that they were planning on going on hiatus so that members could pursue individual projects.

© Debra L Rothenberg

The plan was never for their break to be permanent, with Louis assuring fans: “Your support is truly indescribable! It’s just a break. We’re not going anywhere!!” Despite this, the band never ended up reforming.

In 2017, Harry explained to Rolling Stone: “I didn’t want to exhaust our fan base. If you’re shortsighted, you can think, ‘Let’s just keep touring,’ but we all thought too much of the group than to let that happen. You realise you’re exhausted and you don’t want to drain people’s belief in you.”

Reunion calls

Following the band’s hiatus, there were numerous calls for them to reform. When asked about the possibility for the group to reform for their tenth anniversary in 2020, Niall told Jamie Redknapp: “We’ve been chatting about it, little bits and pieces that we can do, but nothing in terms of getting the band back together, so for now, no.”

Simon Cowell told NME in 2024 that he “doubted” the band would ever get back together.

© NBC

One rumour led fans to believe that the whole band might reform for the final episode of James Corden’s The Late Late Show, with the presenter known to be a huge fan, however, this never panned out.

However, Liam was always keen on the idea of the band getting back together, telling MTV in 2020: “I think we match each other for excitement. Where we left off with the band, we had just finished an album and we didn’t get to tour it so there’s always been that little thing that’s been missing from it. 

© Karwai Tang

“Everyone I’ve spoken to, we always get onto the topic of the reunion at some point, it’s not like anyone is trying to dodge it, it’s just a matter of when.”