One Direction's Louis Tomlinson has finally opened up about Zayn Malik's exit and he admitted that Malik's decision to quit the band to pursue his solo career was harder for him than the rest of the band members, according to reports.

"It was hard. I think maybe for me the most. But he wanted to be happy and he wasn't," Tomlinson told Sunday Times Style. "Everything had always been good and then something bad happens and you have to make decisions, you have to work out what you want and it makes you really know what you want. We all knew we wanted this."

It has been a tough year for everyone in the now four-piece band, but it must be a lot harder for the first-time father, who happens to be Zayn's closest buddy in the group.

Zany Malik left One Direction in early March because he wanted to pursue his solo career and produce "real music". Reports say that Malik signed his contract with the RCA earlier this year, his former band mates have remained in SyCo Entertainment managed by Simon Cowell.

Though Louis didn't deny how hard Malik's exit was for him, he then added that his departure was actually made a bit easier since it took place before recording their last album of the year, adding that it motivated them to work harder and show the world that they have remained as a band amidst the  downsides.

"The good thing was he left just before we made the album. It was like, 'Right, let's make it the best album.' So we worked our backsides off because we wanted to show we are a band, we're here, this is what we do." he explained.

One Direction has just finished their last concert to mark the beginning of their break. Though the band's hiatus has left 1D fans completely heartbroken, the band assured that they're not splitting up and will just take some time off from the limelight.

"It's not a split. We're not going anywhere. In five years, we've done four tours, five albums, we've done films." Liam said, adding that the boys just wanted to have a "little break".

One Direction has just finished their last concert for the year and the whole band is now getting ready for the upcoming release of their last album "Made in the A.M" which is set to due on November 13, Friday.