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Zayn Malik Looks Unrecognizable 6 Months After Split From Gigi Hadid Following Yolanda Altercation
Looking unrecognizable! Zayn Malik shared a rare photo of himself to Instagram six months after his split from Gigi Hadid.
In the photo, the “Pillow Talk” singer, 29, wore cutoff denim shorts and a Tommy Hilfiger racing jacket and looks drastically different than his usual appearance. He shared the snap of himself looking inquisitively into the distance with a thick, scruffy beard for his 45 million Instagram followers to see, with his array of hand and neck tattoos visible.
The rare update from Zayn comes following his recent media fiasco related to his altercation with Gigi’s mom, Yolanda Hadid.
The supermodel, 27, and the former One Direction member dated for nearly six years before separating discreetly in October 2021. Their split happened after it was reported that Yolanda accused Zayn of “striking” her during a dispute.
“Zayn and Gigi have silently separated,” a source told Life & Style at the time. “They’d been having problems for a while and tried to figure them out, but it just wasn’t working.” The insider also noted that following their separation, “Zayn continues to be very much involved in Khai’s life and he and Gigi still care deeply for each other.”
Gigi and Zayn had a rocky relationship even before they welcomed their now-1-year-old daughter, Khai, in September 2020. The pair initially broke up in June 2016 but got back together after only a few days. They again called it quits in March 2018 only to reconcile a month later. They eventually parted ways again in January 2019 but were back together by January 2020, leading up to the birth of their daughter.
Their family problems came to a head on September 29, 2021, when Zayn had an altercation with Yolanda at the Pennsylvania home where he and Gigi had been raising Khai. The dispute resulted in a harassment Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum’s claims that the singer “shoved her into a dresser, causing mental anguish and physical pain,” according to court documents obtained by Life & Style. He also allegedly shouted profanities at Yolanda, like calling her “a f—king Dutch slut” and telling her to “stay away from [my] f—king daughter.”
The incident resulted in a plea of no contest by Zayn to four counts of harassment, and on October 27, he was ordered to 90 days of probation per count (totaling 360 days) and to take anger management classes in addition to paying court fees and other penalties. Whatsmore, he was ordered to stay away from Yolanda.
In the aftermath of the altercation between Zayn and Yolanda, Gigi’s younger sister, Bella Hadid, took her family’s side. An additional insider told Life & Style that Bella “is no longer a fan of Zayn either” after what went down. “She doesn’t particularly want to get involved but is supporting her mom and wants Gigi to be happy,” the source explained.
Zayn’s Instagram update also follows Gigi’s 27th birthday celebration on April 23, in which she had a star-studded gathering at Zero Bond in New York City. Gigi has not yet commented on the altercation between Zayn and her mother, but her reps provided Life & Style a statement after the fact: “Gigi is solely focused on the best for Khai. She asks for privacy during this time.”
