15 Things You Didn't Know About Zayn

A lot of things have been said about Zayn Malik. The British-born singer rose to prominence in 2010 when he was put into One Direction on The X-Factor UK and he's been making headlines ever since… with or without the other boys in the band. While he was in 1D, Zayn was clearly the token mysterious bad boy that every group has to have, so we never really learned all that much about him until he made the decision to step out on his own in 2015. Since then, we've gotten a taste of the real music Zayn enjoys making, and we're totally behind it! He also penned an autobiography and let the world see a bit of the real Zayn Malik, and it's definitely a book of surprises. Here are 15 things you probably/most likely/definitely didn't know about Zayn. And we swear you're going to love him even more.

15 He's Introverted

You would definitely think that to be part of the biggest boy band in the world which means touring and promoting your music without a break, you would have to be something of an extrovert. But one of the most interesting things about Zayn is that he's totally introverted. He's actually a little bit shy! Maybe hardcore fans, called Directioners, figured this out when they noticed that the other four boys in the band would take on most of the speaking responsibilities on stage and in interviews. But for the general public, this is completely surprising. In his self-titled book, Zayn states that he's so introverted that he didn't even want to audition for X-Factor in the first place, and he only went that day seven years ago because his mom essentially forced him. Before 1D, he never liked anybody to hear him sing, and if he could do another job today, it would be something out of the limelight.

14 His Real Name Isn't Zayn

Don't you feel cheated when you find out that the name you've been dreaming about isn't even your idol's birth name? To be fair, Zayn's real name isn't that different to his stage name. He was actually born Zain Javadd Malik. The spelling of Zayn with a "y" came about on The X-Factor when he decided that it was more marketable that way. Zain actually means beautiful in Arabic, and let's be honest, that totally makes sense and definitely fits him. When he was in the band, he was usually referred to by his first and last name, like the other boys, but today he kind of just goes by the simple Zayn. We guess that as soon as you say that name, everyone knows exactly who you're talking about so there's no need for the Malik. Zayn is a statement all on its own now! So there you go a fact you didn't know about your dream boyfriend.

13 He's Dated A Few 'X-Factor' Contestants

Zayn definitely made the most of his time on X-Factor. He not only took advantage of the chance to network and improve his craft, but he also used the time to socialize and even fall in love. Who could blame him, really?! His first fling was with Geneva Lane after the two grew close on the show. At the time, he was 17 and she was 20, and they had to keep things quiet because contestants weren't allowed to date. They went public with their relationship on Twitter after the series finished, but things ended about a month later when Lane labeled Zayn a “heartbreaker." Yikes! The next year in 2011, Zayn dated Rebecca Ferguson when she was 24 and he was 18. The age gap caused quite a bit of controversy, and they also fizzled out after four months. Then, as we know, Zayn soon moved on to X-Factor 2011 winner Perrie Edwards, which lasted much longer.

12 He's Religious

Zayn discusses his religion in his book, which is another element of his life that comes as a bit of a shock. What can we say? He just doesn't seem like the religious type! Zayn identifies as Muslim since that's the way that his family raised him. His mother is of Irish descent but she converted to Islam when she married Zayn's father, who is British-Pakistani. Zayn has read the Islamic holy book, The Quran, a few times in his life, and tries to keep up the strong morals that his parents instilled in him at a young age. Bless! Although he has a few tattoos written in Arabic, Zayn generally doesn't make too much of a big deal about his religion or even his political views, mainly because it isn't anybody else's business and makes no difference to him as an artist, but also because he doesn't want to be too controversial, which is fair enough!

11 He's Afraid Of Swimming And Heights

Zayn might be a huge superstar, but that doesn't mean he has zero fears! One of his biggest fears is swimming, and we bet this would suck when you have the opportunity to jump into the Mediterranean from your yacht whenever you feel like it! Zayn actually suffers from Aquaphobia, which is a fear of open water, so we can't see him jumping into the ocean anytime soon. This fear was common knowledge around the 1D fandom, and Zayn even appeared in the band's video for their song "Kiss You" with floaties on his arms! Zayn is also reportedly not a huge fan of heights. On a couple of the 1D tours he's had to stand on moving stages as they sweep above the audience, so we bet that would have been a bit of a nightmare for him. We definitely can't see him including moving stages in his future solo shows!

10 He Didn't Have A Passport Before 1D

It's clear that getting to be part of One Direction changed the lives of all five boys in the band, but sometimes it's easy to underestimate just how much their lives were totally transformed. To give a bit of context, Zayn didn't even own a passport before he was placed in the band. To go from never having your own passport to traveling all over the world continuously for years is a pretty significant change! Not only had Zayn never owned a passport before becoming famous, but he'd never been on a plane at all. It's crazy to think where Zayn would be now if 1D had never happened, and if he'd still be home in Bradford, never having traveled at all! Zayn actually took his first plane ride with his four band members, who being cheeky teenage boys, managed to convince him that the plane would loop upon taking off.

9 He Designs His Own Tattoos

Zayn has some pretty inspiring body ink, but it's even more inspiring when you realize that he designed many of his tattoos all on his own. Of course, he has a few writings in Arabic, but one of his most famous tattoos is the pop art "Zap" tattoo on his arm, which he designed himself after being inspired by comic books. In September 2013, he told Teen Vogue that he's “a bit of a geek when it comes to comic books.” More of Zayn's famous tattoos include the infamous girl on his arm which is rumored to really be his ex-fiancé Perrie Edwards, which may or may not be gone now that he's with new bae Gigi Hadid. He's also got a microphone on his arm, which as he says is pretty darn self-explanatory, and he's recently had the word 'love' inked across his hand in cursive, perhaps in reference to his new girlfriend!

8 He Loves Animals

Just when you thought you couldn't like this guy any more! It became clear when he was still in the band that Zayn totally can't stand to see any kind of animal in pain. It's been reported that while the boys were filming their documentary, entitled This Is Us, they pulled a fish from the water and let it wriggle in the net. Zayn wasn't happy with this, and he had to walk away because he couldn't handle watching it struggle. He's also been linked to a huge and adorable range of pets. In the past year, he tweeted a picture of himself holding a little brown bird, though we don't know if this was his pet or just a wild animal that couldn't resist flocking to him. He's also been known to have a pet lizard, a number of gorgeous dogs shared with his ex, and a kitty shared with his current GF!

7 He's Inspired By So Many More Artists Than You'd Think

If you listen to Zayn's current music, it's easy to understand how he's inspired by '90s R&B. It probably doesn't come as a surprise that Usher is one of his biggest idols when you listen to his smooth tunes, but you probably weren't expecting him to list Shania Twain as somebody who inspires him! In his new book, he talks about how much he likes country music, and he's totally into Johnny Cash. He maintains that as long as “it's a good tune” he's into it. His list of musical influences also includes rap artists like Tupac, legends like Bob Marley, and the Beatles. He's also a fan of a few artists from Pakistan, so it's pretty clear that his solo music is a combination of a huge list of influences! It's also easy to see how he felt kind of restricted in the band when he could only sing standard pop music, and that must be why he's branching out now.

6 He Had Eating Issues When He Was In 1D

Zayn's been pretty open about how stressful life could be when you're part of the biggest musical act ever, and one of the pitfalls of that stress was that it started to affect his eating habits and his overall health. Toward the end of his time in the band, Zayn was struggling with an eating disorder. He wanted to have control over some aspect of his life, which is a common reason for developing that type of disorder. In his book, he talks about how much was out of his control at that point of his life. He had to deal with papers printing things about him, paparazzi following him, and music execs telling him what to sing and how to sing it. And in the end, what to eat was the only thing he had a say in, so he'd purposely go days without a meal. We're happy he seems a lot healthier now and we hope that his issues are behind him.

5 He's Super Generous

One of the things we love most about Zayn is that he's so quick to share the fortune and opportunities he's earned with those he loves! As he was growing up, his family never had the means to own a house of their own and used to rent different places throughout his childhood. But as soon as Zayn could afford it, he bought his mom and sisters their own mansion in his hometown, Bradford. Zayn also reportedly spent about £250,000 on a pad in Dorset for Perrie's mom when they were still together, and he also is said to have had some very expensive gifts and effects for his Valentine's Days with her! He also cares about his fans and even purchased a box at Bradford City so young soccer fans could share it and have a chance to attend live games. It's clear fame hasn't changed him too much at all!

4 He Did Well At School

Zayn is actually a pretty smart cookie and got super good grades at school before leaving to pursue music. Although he only got up to his GCSEs because of the opportunity with X-Factor, he was good at most subjects and especially loved English. He's even talked about maybe going to university to study English one day, as his original plan was to study English and maybe become a songwriter for other artists. He places a lot of value on education and doesn't believe that having a degree would be worthless just because he's already made enough money and carved a pretty successful career. In his book, he speculates whether he could study English from home, even though we all know the girls at his university would very much appreciate it if he attended the lectures in person! He's also something of a reader and literature nut, and his favorite book is Harry Potter.

3 He Says That He Didn't Break Up With Perrie Over Text

This will forever be a case of "he said, she said" and of course we will never know the real truth. Zayn maintains that things with his ex Perrie ended much more amicably than the media made them out to. Zayn was accused of breaking up with Perrie over a single text message, but Zayn has stated that he would never do that. “I have more respect for Perrie than to end anything over text message. I love her a lot, and I always will, and I would never end our relationship over four years like that,” he said. “She knows that, I know that, and the public should know that as well. I don't want to explain why or what I did, I just want the public to know I didn't do that.” Whatever happened between the two, Perrie seems less than impressed with Zayn, especially in her band's new song "'Shout Out To My Ex."

2 He Suffers From Anxiety

We already know he's introverted and a little shy, but Zayn's issues with being in the public eye, unfortunately, go a little further than that! He is very open about his battle with anxiety, which has caused him to pull out of live shows in the past. In addition to general worrying, Zayn suffers from serious anxiety. While he used to suffer from nerves while he was in the band and would avoid thinking of how many people he was about to perform for until he absolutely had to, he was always able to pick himself up when he had the support of the other boys. Understandably, though, being a solo artist is a little different and much scarier. We love that he's honest about his struggle, rather than just passing off his missed performances as illness, because he's definitely a role model for his fans who suffer from the same thing!

1 He's Extremely Creative

We know he's an amazing singer and his tone weirdly sounds like an angel is singing. We know he's even a good lyricist and songwriter. But few people know that Zayn is actually talented in so many more creative areas! As we can see from the tattoos he designs, he loves drawing and visually creating art, and would even do it to pass time while he was waiting to go on stage back with the band. He states that he left the band in the first place because he wanted the chance to create music that actually meant something to him, and went to great lengths to come up with an authentic sound on his new material. He even recorded parts of it out in the woods! He's a much more creative person than you would have thought having only listened to him singing pop music with 1D, and it makes us love him more!