Zayn Malik told heat 4 months ago he wanted a ‘normal’ life again…

Zayn’s decision to quit One Direction has not come as a surprise to some people, who saw the cracks appearing early last year. (Read Zayn's full statement here).

The singer, who recently came home from the band’s On The Road Again Tour with stress, hasn’t been happy for a while and has admitted he struggled with being famous.

But when we spoke to Zayn, just four months ago, he told heat even then he was finding it hard to cope with the level of fame the band had achieved.

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When we asked him about life after 1D he said: “There are things we would miss but I think it would be nice to go back to be normal.

“You know, just to walk down the street. It’s so busy and there’s always so much going on. I’d want that experience of calm [again].”

Since the news came, bereft fans of the Little Things star have started loads of Zayn related hashtags trending on Twitter and…we don’t think it’s going to end anytime soon.

See the Directioners' reactions here or, if you're feeling sad, check out these pictures of Zayn with lots of cute animals.