Relationships

Zayn Is Reportedly "Sad" About His Breakup With Gigi As She & Tyler Heat Up

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In this midst of all these Tyler Cameron and Gigi Hadid dating rumors, there’s one person who has been notably absent from the headlines: Hadid’s ex, Zayn Malik. Well, not anymore, folks — according to an insider, Zayn Malik reportedly feels "sad" about his Gigi Hadid breakup, especially as she moves on with Cameron. (Elite Daily reached out to Malik's rep for comment and did not hear back in time for publication.) The singer, whose relationship with Hadid ended in January 2019, is reportedly still struggling with missing his former love.

An insider source told Us Weekly that Malik “has been sad about their breakup and was very sad after their breakup.” He reportedly purchased an apartment in NYC “less than 10 months ago” to be near Hadid, before they decided to end things. Now, he’s trying to sell the place. Malik and Hadid dated on-and-off for over two years, beginning in late 2015. Neither has been publicly linked to anyone else since the split — until a few weeks ago, when Hadid began stepping out in New York City with Bachelorette runner-up Tyler Cameron.

Things between Hadid and Cameron seem to be heating up fast (they’ve been on an upstate vacation together, and were most recently spotted out with Serena Williams on Aug. 20), and Hadid’s friends are apparently happy to see her dating again. “Everyone around Gigi is very supportive of her moving on,” the same source revealed to Us Weekly. “It was not a good move for Gigi and Zayn to be around each other. It wasn’t a healthy situation for her.”

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It’s unclear whether Hadid and Malik were still in touch when she started seeing Cameron, but the two were definitely friendly in the months after their breakup. In March, Malik tweeted “love you” at Hadid, and Us Weekly reported at the time that the two were still talking — but also that Hadid was “still very single.” Then, in April, after fans criticized him for a series of cryptic tweets, Malik went on a Twitter rant to defend his ex. “My tweet was not about @GiGiHadid so leave her the f*ck alone she is the most amazing woman I’ve ever known,” he wrote. He added that Hadid “does nothing but love and support me when lord knows I don’t deserve it.”

Despite all this, sources said at the time that Malik and Hadid remained firmly broken up. And apparently, their relationship really struggled toward the end. One source told Us Weekly in March that Hadid “tried hard to make it work,” but that Malik had “a lot of his own issues that she couldn’t help him get through.” So ultimately, they had to call it quits — even though they tried their hardest to salvage things.

Now, hearing about Malik’s reported sadness, I can’t figure out how to feel. I’ve always been a Zayn and Gigi fan, but this new reported romance with Cameron — who might be the year’s biggest breakout star — is super exciting. TBH, if Hadid is happy with Cameron, she should live her best life, regardless of what anyone else thinks. Relationships can be tough to end, especially when both partners still care deeply for each other. And if these sources are correct, it wasn’t a good situation for Hadid to stay close to her ex. As much as I loved Malik and Hadid together, I’ll stan a happy and healthy relationship for Hadid any day — especially when it’s with a dreamboat like Cameron.