Gigi Hadid Breaks Silence on Zayn Malik After Their Breakup

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In a recent interview with Vogue, supermodel Gigi Hadid opened up about her co-parenting relationship with ex-boyfriend Zayn Malik, with whom she shares a 4-year-old daughter, Khai. Hadid emphasized their mutual support and respect.

“Zayn and I do our custody schedules months in advance,” Hadid explains to Vogue. “That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t change here and there, but we help each other out and have each other’s backs.”

It may be difficult to believe, but there was a time when fame, or even a career in fashion, felt far from inevitable to Gigi Hadid. https://t.co/eEEW0fjRTr pic.twitter.com/IgoEXBWsRz

— Vogue Magazine (@voguemagazine) March 11, 2025

Gigi and Zayn dated for about six years, and their relationship attracted significant attention —particularly about how it ended back in 2021. Its conclusion followed an alleged altercation between Zayn and Gigi’s mother, Yolanda Hadid.

Hadid says that she and Malik have entered this new phase of their partnership with “love and a sense of camaraderie,” acknowledging that their relationship will likely always be under scrutiny. “The hardest part is the world knowing so much and thinking they know everything,” she explains. “At the end of the day, we’re not interested in sharing our whole story. What matters is raising our daughter together, with so much respect for each other, not just as co-parents, but because of everything we’ve gone through together.”

Why Gigi and Zayn Broke Up

Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik’s breakup in 2021 was influenced by a combination of personal struggles and external pressures. One of the most significant events that contributed to their split was an the aforementioned alleged altercation between Zayn and Gigi’s mother, Yolanda Hadid, in September 2021.

Zayn was accused of shoving Yolanda during a dispute, which led to legal consequences, with him pleading no contest to harassment charges. This incident put a strain on Zayn and Gigi’s relationship, as Gigi reportedly sided with her mother after the altercation.

In addition to this family drama, Zayn has been open about his mental health struggles, particularly his battles with anxiety. Over the years, he has spoken publicly about how this has affected his personal and professional life, including canceling performances due to mental health issues. A recovery process and the handling of various personal difficulties has recently been compounded by the death of Liam Payne, his former One Direction bandmate and friend.

Hadid’s Reflections on Motherhood

Regarding her journey as a mother, Gigi shares the process that has led her to put into perspective one of the most complex experiences a woman can go through.

“For a lot of moms there’s this perfect image of what they’re supposed to be and how it needs to go,” she says, but for her and Khai, they are learning every day. “We grow together. You wake up and do your best and you realize it is enough, and there’s a beauty in not necessarily knowing exactly how that’s going to go,” she revealed.

The model also added, “I think that’s a huge lesson that I needed. And probably one of the reasons that Khai came to me. You can’t always be in control. You can’t always plan. You can look at an experience as the right or wrong time for anything, if that’s your perspective. Now I just give myself the grace and look at how many things I’ve handled. Step by step, I learned. I got through it.”