Zayn Malik is opening up about his regrets while being a member of One Direction.
During an interview on the Zach Sang Show, the 31-year-old “Pillowtalk” singer said he wishes he would’ve taken more time to appreciate his time with the British boy band.
“The main thing that I always feel bad about when I look back over my life is not enjoying the band enough,” explained Malik, whose new album, Room Under the Stairs, dropped on Friday (May 10).
“I feel like I just took things too seriously. I’m grateful that I’m able to be happier now. I can actually enjoy things and own my own perspective a bit. Like, glass half full versus it being half empty. That’s my choice.”
Malik shocked fans by announcing his departure from One Direction in March 2015. Later that year, the remaining four-piece — Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson — went on an indefinite hiatus. The group was formed in 2010 by Simon Cowell on the U.K.’s X-Factor when the musicians were teenagers.
During the interview, Malik added that his younger self “didn’t understand the importance of just trying to be happy. I had this, like, teen angst thing going on — chip on my shoulder. I’m like, ‘It’s really cool to be moody as f— all the time.’ It’s not. You’re just a loser. Let’s be honest, you know what I mean?”
Since then, Malik has learned that “you should be a nice person. You should be somebody that people want to be around and enjoy being in your presence, and you should bring light to peoples’ day instead of being this f—ing negative cloud of energy.”
When the topic turned to romance, Malik admitted that he doesn’t think he’s ever been in love. The pop star previously dated supermodel Gigi Hadid for more than five years. The pair share 3-year-old daughter, Khai.
“I don’t know how you know what love is. That’s a really deep question. It’s hard, you know? I think love comes in many different forms. In love with somebody is a whole different, kind of complicated, you know? There’s so many different variables that go into it,” Malik said.
He added, “When you ask me, ‘What is love?’ I think the reason that’s hard for me to answer that question is I don’t know if I’ve ever actually truly been in love.”
Watch Malik’s Zach Sang Show interview below.