Zayn Malik Unfollowed Gigi Hadid on Instagram Amid Her New Leonardo DiCaprio Romance

Gigi Hadid’s ex-boyfriend Zayn Malik may not be thrilled about the model’s new romance with Leonardo DiCaprio. Pop culture news account PopFaction pointed out this morning that Malik just unfollowed Hadid, who he dated on-off for six years before their final breakup a year ago, on Instagram. Hadid still follows Malik. The former One Direction singer is only following 24 people on his account now, and about half are fan accounts about him.

Malik’s move comes shortly after Us Weekly and People reported that Hadid and DiCaprio were dating officially now, although their relationship is casual. As a source recently told E!, “Gigi is having fun with it. She is not interested in anything serious.”

It also comes days after Hadid gave Malik a rare shoutout on her Instagram while celebrating their daughter Khai’s second birthday.

She later posted more photos revealing that Malik put together the party for Khai: “Her baba threw her the best party! @zayn,” Hadid captioned one. Hadid herself appeared in another shot, confirming that the former couple fêted their daughter’s big day together.

News of Hadid and Malik’s final breakup broke in October 2021 after reports surfaced that Malik and Hadid’s mom Yolanda Hadid had an alleged dispute on September 29. Although Malik denied any physical contact with Hadid’s mother, he ultimately pled no contest to four charges of harassment against the model and Yolanda Hadid. The charge against Hadid, per TMZ’s sources, came from the verbal abuses Malik allegedly said to Hadid while on the phone with her during the incident with her mom.

In a statement shared before the no contest pleas were publicly revealed, Malik said, “As you all know I am a private person and I very much want to create a safe and private space for my daughter [Khai] to grow up in. A place where private family matters aren’t thrown on the world stage for all to poke and pick apart. In an effort to protect that space for her, I agreed to not contest claims arising from an argument I had with a family member of my partner’s who entered our home while my partner was away several weeks ago. This was and still should be a private matter but it seems for now there is divisiveness and despite my efforts to restore us to a peaceful family environment that will allow for me to co-parent my daughter in a manner in which she deserves, this has been ‘leaked’ to the press. I am hopeful though for healing for all involved with the harsh words shared and more importantly I remain vigilant to protect Khai and give her the privacy she deserves.”

When news first broke of the split, a source told The Sun that it wasn’t meant to be permanent. Hadid and Malik broke up “with the intention of getting back together,” the source claimed. “They’ve broken up multiple times before so when it comes to them getting back together, never say never. But they definitely need time apart, it’s what’s best for everyone involved.”

In November 2021, a source indicated to E! that reconciliation absolutely wasn’t happening. Hadid “is done with Zayn for good,” the source said.

Still, the model has always been dedicated to maintaining a good co-parenting relationship with Malik for the sake of their daughter. “Yolanda is very upset with Zayn, but Gigi has made it clear that her daughter needs her dad,” a source close to Gigi told People in early November. “Gigi will do everything she can to make sure they co-parent in a civil way.”

In later proof of that, Hadid posted a Father’s Day tribute to Malik on her Instagram in June and has kept their relationship completely private otherwise following their breakup.

Hadid spoke to InStyle in an interview published in February this year about her decision to keep more of her life private now. “I’ve always been very trusting, and like a lot of people, I learned the hard way in this industry by being too open in interviews,” she said. “You have to start to calculate your steps, because you went for it with an open heart, and sometimes it doesn’t get portrayed that way.”

“So, in part, yes, I have scaled back [on what I share about my personal life],” she continued. “But in the moments when you’re face-to-face with people, you still have to be open. You’re only going to have a human experience if you’re fully in the moment. You try not to have those weird voices in your head that come from traumatic experiences.”