Perhaps one of the most controversial hurdle the famous boy band 'One Direction' had to go through in their career was when Zayn Malik called it quits with the group. According to Liam Payne, Malik's departure was a "disaster"

Zayn quit the group on March 15, 2015 during the Asian Leg of 'One Direction's' world tour. One Direction announced on Facebook not long after Malik departed from their world tour because of "stress."

In a report in Time, Malik' reason for leaving the group was quoted, "I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight," Malik said in the statement. "I know I have four friends for life in Louis, Liam, Harry and Niall. I know they will continue to be the best band in the world."

Malik really longed for a "normal" life, and has moved to America to work on solo projects. He also broke off his engagement to Perrie Edwards from the girl band Little Mix.

 Liam along with his fellow One Direction membrs Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan were astonished and even baffled when Zayn first opened up to them that he was going to leave the group. Payne however is thanking the unending support of their fans in making their greatest challenge a benchmark in solidifying their career as a group.

Liam told UK TV show Good Morning Britain."One Direction was never really Zayn's bag if you know what I mean, His taste in music was a bit different and I guess that's what drove him to do what he did in the end, which is not necessarily a bad thing."

"Everyone's come out fine from it, thanks to our beautiful fans. And he's off doing what he loves as well, so both parties are winners in the end of a disaster of a situation. It's all good."

Liam  also told US talk show host James Corden, "At first we were a little bit angry, obviously, we were surprised, but I think we all kind of knew the general vibe that Zayn was feeling... There's certain parts of this job that Zayn loved and certain parts of the job that he didn't.

"You've got to follow your heart sometimes and go where you need to go. There's no argument when you do that."

One Direction has also announced and is looking forward for a much needed break in March after the release of their fifth album 'Made in the AM'. Individually, they have been making plans what to do on the said break however Louis insists that much of the break will still be spent together as a group.

 "There's no doubt we'll see plenty of each other, we're gonna plan to go on a little lads' holiday," he explained. "Actually it's just the day-to-day things (I'll miss), we are like a family now, so it's the company that you're used to, it's like leaving school and leaving your friends behind."

As to when the group is slated for a big comeback Louis has this to say, "We don't really want to put a time on it because then that puts pressure on us," he added. "And we're just going to enjoy this time to do what we want to do."