One Direction was never Zayn Malik's "kind of bag".
The 22-year-old singer quit the group in March and his former bandmates can understand why he chose to leave as his own music tastes were so different.
Liam Payne said: "One Direction was never really Zayn's kind of bag, if you know what I mean. His taste in music was a bit different, and I guess that's kind of what drove him to do what he did in the end, which is not necessarily a bad thing."
Despite Liam admitting it was a "disaster" when Zayn left the group, he thinks things have worked out for the best.
![One Direction members, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan. Photo / AP](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/Q7BEU7LT5T72IPHEKP4MOJ63KQ.jpg?auth=3f558dbc74e49131ef4b32b31cecf6ff8b04cd09f4251a15f4bf0512b39c6857&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)