Why did Zayn Malik quit One Direction?

Answer 1

According to Zayn himself, he quit because he wanted to be, in his words "a normal 22-year old".
It is evident that Zayn did not feel happy with a life of fame.

He is not the first celebrity to quit over the lack of privacy and "normalisation" the spotlight gives. A large number of former celebrities have quit because the attention and fame stopped them from being normal.


This is part of an interview with Zayn over why he quit:
"I did try to do something that I wasn't happy doing for a while, for the sake of maybe other people's happiness and that was mainly the fans. And I only ever tried to do it for the fans, and it was only ever for them. And, basically, I'm only upset I feel like I may have let them down in some sort of way. That's the main thing that I don't want to happen. It's not that I've turned my back on them or anything, it's just that I just can't do that anymore because it's not real to me."