Echo Of Us • Zarry

GQ

COVER STORY

Harry Styles and Zayn Malik Talk Their Relationship for The First Time

BY Patrick Jerry

PHOTOGRAPHS BY Lance MCBrock

MARCH 4, 2019

Exclusively for GQ, Harry Styles and Zayn Malik give the world an insight into their very private relationship. For over a year, it's been a delightful yet unnerving mystery. In a special three cover edition, the couple was photographed by Lance McBrock and interviewed in their NYC penthouse by Patrick Jerry. The cover story includes some of their private never-seen-before photographs.

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting with Harry Styles and Zayn Malik, who were so nice they allowed us to set up the interview in their NYC home. I arrived to their place in the early evening hours and was pleasantly surprised by them. Never having the chance to see them in person before, I was happy to find that they both were very down to earth people, in spite if their popstar statuses and many achievements. We exchanged some pleasantries about my journey, the weather and the usual things before the interview started.

Their penthouse is surely lovely, giving off a warm feeling despite it being very modern and minimalistic in some aspects. Just spending a few minutes with the couple, I could see how comfortable they were around each other, exchanging looks that might as well be their own language and casually putting a hand on the other's knee or furtively linking fingers. They seemed to be always touching each other in one way or another which I found rather romantic. Perhaps their easiness is a remnant from their One Direction days, when they both along with three other bandmates spent almost every waking hour together. Regardless, I was very curious and excited for the interview.

GQ Style: To start off, I have to compliment your home. It's rather stylish.

Harry Styles: Thank you very much. Stylish, but still cozy.

Zayn Malik: A slice of our own paradise (laughs).

Thank you both for finding the time to do this cover story. The whole editorial office is very excited. Why did you decide to talk about your relationship now after you've kept quiet for a year?

ZM: To simply set the facts straight. For me, it's always been important that my fans know the truth and now, there's been just too much speculation about me and Harry. And while we mostly ignore the media, we can't ignore the way our fans talk about it and how everyone's trying to undermine it.

HS: Yeah, we just want people to stop questioning everything we do. Maybe it's because our fans are really passionate but it's started to affect our relationship. You know, our families and friends go online and then they see an article about us breaking up or not being in a real relationship. It's quite annoying.

But that happens to every celebrity couple, doesn't it? How is your situation different?

ZM: Well... (laughs).

HS: Some of our fans... don't believe that we're together for real. You know, we've been ignoring it but it's got pretty ridiculous lately. Tabloids picked up on it on social media and it found its way into magazines. My mum was pretty shocked when she was picking up some groceries and saw a cover that said some weird stuff.

Styles is referring a recent piece of gossip released by The Sun that claimed Styles was in a secret relationship with ex-bandmate Louis Tomlinson. No further proof of this exists other than the internet theories of Styles' fans.