On March 25, 2015, devastating news reached the ears of One Direction fans worldwide – Zayn Malik was leaving the band.

It’s been 10 years since Zayn Malik quit One Direction (Picture: Hugh Thompson/REX/Shutterstock)

‘My life with One Direction has been more than I could ever have imagined,’ the then 22-year-old singer said in a statement.

‘But, after five years, I feel like it is now the right time for me to leave the band. I’d like to apologise to the fans if I’ve let anyone down, but I have to do what feels right.’

The dramatic fallout was similar to Beatlesmania or the Take That split, with fans bawling their eyes out and feeling ‘resentment’ toward the Bradford-born singer.

While Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson continued as a four-piece, it was the start of the end for the biggest boyband in the world.

Now, a decade on and after the heartbreaking news of Liam’s death at age 31 last year, Directioners are seeing Zayn’s exit through fresh eyes.

His exit was the start of the end for One Direction (Picture: Christie Goodwin/Redferns)
‘People always talk about how they can remember where they were for historical events, but I genuinely can remember exactly where I was,’ fan Liv Cox told Metro.

She was in the car with her mum, heading home from school when they flicked onto Radio 1, which was half through playing What Makes You Beautiful.

‘I was singing along, having a lovely time,’ Liv continued. ‘Then after the song finished, it was Greg James presenting at the time and he said, “Is it too soon?” And my stomach dropped.’

Fan Liv Cox sobbed in her room for hours after the announcement (Picture: Liv Cox)
Greg broke the news, leaving the dedicated Directioner in ‘stunned silence’ – to the point her mum was getting concerned.

‘I was just completely silent. I went up to my bedroom, just sat there and sobbed for about two hours.’

Emily Bashforth explained how she struggled to feel ‘normal’ as her ‘whole world changed forever’ with a ‘pit of sadness’ in her stomach after reading the announcement.

Metro reporter Meghna Amin shared that it felt like ‘the beginning of the end’ for the beloved band.

Meghna Amin was a huge fan as a child (Picture: Meghna Amin)
She added: ‘The only member of the band from a similar background to mine was now not representing our community in the band, which felt like they were cutting out a big audience in some ways.’

This ‘out of the blue’ feeling was partly due to the group being mid-tour at the time, having just played Hong Kong the week before.

Zayn, 32, said he wanted to have some ‘private time’ away from the spotlight, denying any rumours of a rift between himself and his bandmates.

Even though things seemed amicable, Meghna notes there was pressure from fans to ‘pick a side’ and either support the remaining four-piece or Zayn.

‘You were either seen as defending him and then being “against” the rest of the band, or vice versa,’ she said.

Emily, who was 15 at the time, said there was ‘an instant feeling of resentment’ towards Zayn for shattering her beloved band.

‘He was part of the world’s biggest boyband, living a life of luxury with millions worshipping his every move—how could he just leave that behind?’

Fan and One Direction TikToker Ben Pease told Metro: ‘I was angry, and I did take sides, I was very much in favour of the band.’

It was a year before Zayn would release any solo music, raising eyebrows within the fandom about how his ‘break’ hadn’t been very long.

Meghna’s enthusiasm didn’t wane after Zayn’s exit (Picture: Meghna Amin)
In interviews since, the I Don’t Wanna Live Forever hitmaker has said the writing was on the wall for the band, who eventually split in 2017, he just jumped ship first.

Revelations about each bandmate’s mental health have drastically changed the perception of Zayn’s exit for a lot of fans.

Ben, once angry at the decision, now calls it a ‘really brave thing’ to put your mental health before your career at such a precarious point.

He continued: ‘There was so much pressure on him. He was such a big part of people’s lives in One Direction, it was such a huge cultural phenomenon.

One Direction were the biggest band in the world at the time (Picture: PA)
‘It must have been so difficult to walk away from that, and decide to go it alone without the support of four more guys the same age around you. So I think it was really brave, and I have a lot of respect for him.’

Emily thinks it’s ‘not surprising’ one of the ‘overworked’ former X Factor stars – who became famous at 16 – had decided to pull the plug.

‘Fast forward 10 years, and I can only thank the Lord that Zayn was brave enough to take that step for the sake of his mental health, in spite of the immense backlash he would inevitably face,’ she added.

Liv, who felt herself shift away from the band after his exit partly due to getting older, added: ‘I don’t think it was necessarily a bad thing.

One Direction fans think Zayn is brave for quitting (Picture: Liv Cox)
‘I wouldn’t go as far as saying it was a good thing for them. I think that last album would have been great with him on it, and it would have been nice for them to just finish that final chapter together.

‘It was strange not to hear his solos, and I feel like he was so known for his ad-libs, so those extra qualities he brought, I definitely noticed the absence.’

Meghna believes it was the ‘best decision for all of them’, while it was devastating at the time ‘someone had to be the first to go’.

This softened approach is undoubtedly influenced by the loss of Liam, who openly discussed his struggle in the spotlight and from their relentless schedule.

Zayn himself appears to have warmed to his boyband history, singing Night Changes on stage for the first time on the anniversary of his exit.

‘It should have been a wakeup call'(Picture: JM Enternational/Redferns)
‘Had Liam never gone to his audition for The X Factor, it’s hard not to wonder whether he’d still be alive today,’ Emily reflected sadly.

‘Zayn leaving the band when he did makes me realise now, as I’m older and the chaos of 1D mania has quietened, just how bad things must have got. That’s not to say Liam should’ve left too, because it was always apparent he loved what he did.

‘However, Zayn’s exit should’ve been a wake-up call. And now, I can say honestly that I’m so proud of him, because he put his health and safety before what seemed on the surface to be the most magical thing in the world, and that courage is what I’ll always admire.’