Zayn Malik is giving a shoutout to his ex.
Nearly a decade after his split from Little Mix's Perrie Edwards, which came amid his departure from One Direction, the 31-year-old looked back at their four-year relationship and engagement.
"From 17 to 21, I was in a relationship," Zayn recalled in a May 14 profile for Nylon, reflecting on his plans to get married to the fellow X Factor alum. "I was engaged. I didn't know anything about anything at that point. I thought I did, because I was 21. I was legally allowed to do everything, but I didn't know s--t."
Zayn and Perrie's whirlwind relationship coincided with the unprecedented success of One Direction—which also included Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Liam Payne—and saw the "Pillowtalk" singer inking his skin with a cartoon drawing of the Little Mix member and popping the question in 2013. Ultimately, though, for Zayn it was his attempt to grow up too fast.
"I lived a very chill life in Bradford," he explained. "I never really had a girlfriend. My parents were kind of old-school, so I never brought a girlfriend home or anything. When I got the chance to do that, I jumped straight in, two feet first, and was like, ‘I'm going to have a girlfriend, and she's going to live with me. This makes me a grown man.'"
Overall, 2015 marked a year of major change for the singer. He departed the boy band that March and had ended his romance with Perrie by August, ultimately going on to date Gigi Hadid—with whom he shares 4-year-old daughter Khai—that same year.
As for the rumors he had cheated on his ex-fianceé or ended their relationship over text, Zayn previously shut down speculation.
"I have more respect for Perrie than to end anything over text message," he told Fader in a November 2015 profile, shortly before his relationship with Gigi went public. "I love her a lot, and I always will, and I would never end our relationship over four years like that. She knows that, I know that, and the public should know that as well. I don't want to explain why or what I did, I just want the public to know I didn't do that."
However, Perrie—who now shares 2-year-old son Axel with partner Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain—doesn't share his recollection as she later reflected on the breakup, and doubled down on the claim that her ex had ended things over the phone.
"It was horrible, the worst time in my life," Perrie wrote in her girl group's 2017 book Our World. "A four-year relationship, two-year engagement ended by a simple text message. Just like that."
And while their relationship ended on rocky terms, Zayn and Perrie—who won The X Factor in 2011 alongside band mates Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall and former member Jesy Nelson—have made it through the dark.
As Zayn put it to Nylon, "I'm really content and happy with being single for the first time in my life."
While Zayn and Perrie have spread their wings and flew away from one another nearly 10 years ago, read on for more iconic singing duos.
Ashanti and Nelly
The two dated on and off between 2003 and 2013, then rekindled their romance in 2023. In April 2024, Ashanti announced the two were engaged and that she was pregnant. This will be her first child.
Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra
The pair tied the knot in December 2018 and later welcomed daughter Malti Marie in January 2022.
"Family is a big part of my life. It's always been a part of my dreams," Priyanka told E! News' Daily Pop in January 2021, with Nick adding the next month, "We're blessed to have each other and have a full heart for the future."
Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco
The "Lose You to Love Me" singer debuted her romance with the music producer in December 2023, writing in an Instagram comment, "He is my absolute everything in my heart."
Selena—who previously dated Justin Bieber and The Weeknd—has known Benny for at least eight years, as they worked together on her 2015 Revival tracks "Same Old Love" and "Kill Em With Kindness."
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce
The Grammy winner saw sparks fly with the Kansas City Chiefs football player during the cruel summer of 2023.
“This all started when Travis very adorably put me on blast on his podcast, which I thought was metal as hell,” she told TIME in December 2023. “We started hanging out right after that. So we actually had a significant amount of time that no one knew, which I’m grateful for, because we got to get to know each other. By the time I went to that first game, we were a couple. I think some people think that they saw our first date at that game? We would never be psychotic enough to hard launch a first date.”
Miley Cyrus and Maxx Morando
The Hannah Montana alum has been getting flowers from the Liily drummer since 2021.
"It's official between them," a source told E! News in January 2022, with a second insider adding, "They are both artistic and creative, so they bond over being musicians."
Harry Styles and Taylor Russell
The One Direction alum seemingly kicked off his golden romance with the Bones and All actress in 2023 following his split from Olivia Wilde. Harry and Taylor were spotted holding hands in London in September 2023, and he attended her final West End performance in The Effect the following month.
Beyoncé and Jay-Z
The music legends tied the knot on April 4, 2008 and went on to welcome daughter Blue Ivy on January 7, 2012 and twins Rumi and Sir on June 13, 2017.
"I was 20 years old when we first started dating," Bey told Jay-Z on his birthday in 2006. "You taught me how to be a woman. You taught me how to live. You taught me how to be a friend. You've given me so much in life."
Adele and Rich Paul
The singer said hello to a new romance when she reconnected with the sports agent in 2021. Later that year, she praised him as "hilarious" and "very smart" during her CBS special, noting, "It's quite incredible watching him do what he does and just the easiness of it and very smooth."
As Adele told The Hollywood Reporter in December 2023, "Rich and I have always known everything about each other since the day we got together."
Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater
After news broke of Ariana's split with husband Dalton Gomez in July 2023, she said "thank u, next" and started a relationship with her Wicked costar, who officially filed for divorce from his wife Lilly Jay in September 2023.
Demi Lovato and Jutes
The couple met while working on her 2022 single "Substance" and she debuted her romance with the "Too Easy" artist in August 2022.
"We worked really well together and we're also just super in love," the Disney alum said on The Jennifer Hudson Show in December 2023. "It's amazing to find someone that you just laugh with and that you get to make music with."
A$AP Rocky and Rihanna
They found love after first meeting over a decade ago. The singers performe d"Cockiness" at the MTV Video Music Awards and grew closer over the years. Things seemed to turn romantic by 2018, when they cozied up at a Louis Vuitton fashion show.
The couple welcomed son RZA in May 2022 and baby boy Riot Rose in August 2023.
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck
Her love didn't cost a thing—except 20 years' wait. Though they originally got engaged in November 2002, Ben and J.Lo ultimately broke up and spent years apart. Their rekindled romance took off, with a second engagement in April 2022 and tied the knot just three months later.