One Direction on Zayn Malik Leaving: 'It's Been a Tough Few Weeks'

Liam Payne and Niall Horan keep it comfortable as they land back home at Heathrow Airport on Sunday (April 5) in London, England.

The guys and their One Direction bandmates – Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson – recently opened up about Zayn Malik quitting the group.

“It’s been a tough few weeks, probably the toughest since the band was formed five years ago,” Liam told The Sun (via People). “We’re gutted that Zayn chose to leave, but now after a few performances as a four piece, we’re feeling confident and are determined to carry on stronger than ever.”

Niall added, “”We’re looking forward to seeing all our fans on the tour this year. All we want to do is make them proud and return their faith in us with a brilliant tour and an amazing new album.”

Harry also opened up about working on the new record. “It’s very exciting to be working on our fifth album,” he said, with Louis adding, “All four of us are 100 percent committed to staying in One Direction and we want to thank the fans for being so incredible during this time.”