Zayn Malik shares details about life with his daughter Khai out of the limelight

Zayn Malik candidly spoke about his life with his daughter Khai outside of the limelight.

On a 14 March episode of Hot Ones, the former One Direction member spoke about raising his three-year-old daughter with supermodel Gigi Hadid, and how they have tried to give her a peaceful childhood in rural Pennsylvania. Being away from the hustle and bustle of the entertainment business has directly influenced the writing process for his upcoming fourth studio album, Room Under The Stairs.

“I think life in general can influence your writing process,” he explained to host Sean Evans. “You have to live and go through things to have something to talk about. So yeah, it’s definitely has took on the surrounding area of Pennsylvania.

“It’s got that feel, it’s got the chill, like introspective kind of conscious kind of thing going on,” he continued. “And I’m really excited for people to listen to it because it’s really different from anything I’ve ever done before, it’s super personal.”

The interview is a rarity for the “Dusk Til Dawn” singer, who did his first interview in six years last July, with an appearance on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast. At the time, he explained to Cooper that he really craved more privacy after the overwhelming, stratospheric fame he was catapulted into when he was in One Direction

“I feel like we were so overexposed in the band,” he said to the host. “That’s why I took the time that I have to, like, not even necessarily do interviews.”

He added that he was emboldened to face his anxieties and fears head-on because he wanted to set an example for his daughter.

“Since I’ve had my daughter, the main thing in my mind is trying to be a good example to her,” he admitted. “That’s why I’m even doing this interview, you know? I used to get a lot of anxiety around having a conversation like this. And I want her to be able to look at me and be like, ‘My dad’s doing this.’”

He added that Khai has also brought out his soft side. “I keep being told I’m telling dad jokes,” the singer revealed. “And I’m leaning into it. I’m just like, ‘It’s OK. It’s cool.’”

In September 2020, Hadid and Malik reportedly welcomed their daughter via a home birth. At the time, Malik posted on Twitter, now known as X, about their happy news. “Our baby girl is here, healthy & beautiful,” Malik wrote on the platform. “To try put into words how I am feeling right now would be an impossible task. 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 x.”