Liam admits Zayn quit #1D to save relationship with Perrie Edwards

One Direction's Liam Payne has finally admitted Zayn Malik left the group to spend time with his fiancée, Little Mix star Perrie Edwards.

The 21-year-old singer confirmed weeks of speculation that the blonde beauty was behind the singer's decision to leave on Wednesday morning, telling a Capital FM's Breakfast Show his friend simply 'wanted to spend time with his missus'.

Die hard fans of the boy band have long blamed Perrie for Zayn's departure from the group, brandishing her the Yoko Ono of their generation. 

Zayn sensationally quit One Direction in March claiming he wanted to live his life 'as a normal 22-year-old'. 

He has since been recording material for a solo singing career, consistently dodging questions over whether his fiancee was behind the move.

This morning his former bandmate confirmed as much during an interview on Capital FM. 

'Sometimes you have to move on because you're not enjoying what you're doing as much as you used to,' Liam told host Lisa Snowdon. 

'He wanted to spend time with his family and his missus. That's cool with us.'

Zayn's departure from the group came after pictures of him with scantily-clad young women emerged during a holiday in Thailand. 

After their release Zayn flew back to the UK for 'crisis talks', sources claimed, before issuing a statement announcing he was to leave the band. 

While he made no mention of his fiancee in the statement, fans were quick to assume she may have prompted his decision. 

They compared the 21-year-old to John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono who was largely blamed for the end of The Beatles in the late 1960s.

While Liam offered nothing but encouraging words to his former bandmate in his recent interview, relations between other members of the group have soured somewhat.

Louis Tomlinson became embroiled in a bitter Twitter spat with Zayn after mocking a producer he appears to have been working with on solo material. 

The pair exchanged quips online earlier this month, with Zayn accusing his former bandmate of being 'b****y'. 

Since leaving the group Zayn and Perrie, who became engaged in August 2013, have put on a united front. 

The pair enjoyed a holiday to the South of France with Zayn's family last month, posting a string of loved-up selfies during the trip. 

Earlier this week the duo recorded a comedy video for Perrie's Instagram page, delighting followers with their high-pitched rendition of All 4 One’s hit I Swear.

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