British pop star Zayn Malik says he’s extremely thankful that he met ex-girlfriend Gigi Hadid, amid split and reconciliation rumours.
“I’m really thankful that I met her,” he told GQ.
“We go to the farm. We have horses.”
There was also a time he actually rode a horse with Gigi. Reminiscing about the experience, Zayn said, “I looked like a complete idiot and she looked like a complete professional.” He continued, “We’re still really good friends, and we’re still in contact,” he revealed, still referring to himself and Gigi as “we.”
“We’re adults. We don’t need to put a label on it, make it something for people’s expectations. I had a very negative outlook on things. That might have been adolescence or testosterone or whatever was running through my body at the time,” he said. “She’s helped me to look at things from a positive angle.”
Not just that though, it looks like the 25-year-old has really found a home in the US. He said he has been startled by the welcoming spirit of the country and might even consider running for office in his new home.
The former One Direction heartthrob said he was “a bit shocked” at first by the friendliness of Americans and felt that the country was being “misrepresented across the globe.”
“No matter what colour, what gender, what sexuality, what class – none of that matters here. People genuinely want to know you for who you are. And that’s how America should be represented across the world,” the 25-year-old singer added.
Asked if he would consider running for office himself, he said, “Maybe. It’d be cool. I feel like it’s a beautiful place.”
Zayn, who has gone only by his first name since launching his solo career, is partially of Pakistani descent and is one of the most visible Muslims in Western pop music.
After leaving One Direction in 2015, Zayn moved to Los Angeles and more recently New York as he shifted style sharply from the squeaky-clean boy band, singing R&B-infused tracks heavy on sex appeal.
“I don’t work well in group situations, with loads of people staring at me. And when you say ‘star’…everyone wants you to be this kind of character that owns a room or is overly arrogant or confident. I’m not that guy,” he said. “So I don’t want to be a star.”
His arrival in the United States coincided with the rise of President Donald Trump, who during his campaign called for a ban on Muslims entering the country.
But Zayn said that one effect of the political climate is that Americans are “expressing how they really feel about where they come from and their heritage and their backgrounds.”
“So that’s how I feel about it – it’s a beautiful place, and it’s a beautiful time to be alive.”