Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik's Relationship Timeline: A Look Back

When Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik first got together in 2015, the couple seemed like the ultimate celebrity-romance cliché (read: model meets musician). However, thanks to their unique brand of love, the runway regular and former boy-bander managed to dodge the cookie-cutter relationship and enthralled fans with social media posts, song lyrics, and, of course, strategic paparazzi photos. Still, despite its Disney-esque facade, their love story wasn't exactly a fairytale.

If the pair's countless breakups and makeups were any indication, their relationship was not only fragile but unhealthy too — and we're not just referring to Malik's alleged altercation with Hadid's mother, Yolanda, that prompted their split either. Although the two have severed ties romantically and remain separated since their last (and final?) breakup in 2021, they are still very much a part of each other's lives as co-parents.

Here's a look back at Gigi Hadid and Zayne Malik's relationship.

November 2015: Gigi Hadid and Zayne Malik first meet and are spotted together

Hadid and Malik met at a Victoria's Secret party. According to the Evening Standard, Malik recognized Hadid "from her picture." Their first date was at Gemma at the Bowery Hotel in New York City. 

"She's a very intelligent woman. She knows how to carry herself. She's quite classy at that," he told ES of their first night out.

Later that month, the two were spotted publicly at The Nice Guy in Los Angeles and made headlines. Rumors started to pick up speed, and fans wondered what, exactly, was happening since Malik had just ended his three-year engagement to Little Mix's Perrie Edwards and Hadid had just broken up with Joe Jonas.

December 20, 2015: Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik become Instagram official

The relationship went Instagram official, reported E!. In a since-deleted post, Malik shared a black-and-white photo of the twosome looking cute and romantic, cementing his and Hadid's status as a bona fide couple.

January 29, 2016: Gigi Hadid stars in Zayne Malik's "Pillow Talk" music video

If fans had any doubt about the couple, even after that lovey IG post, things were rock solid by January 2016. Per E!, Hadid attended multiple events at Men's Fashion Week in Paris wearing a "Z" necklace (she later upgraded to one that read Zayn). Teen Vogue noted that the lock screen on her phone was a photo of Malik, and the release of his single, "Pillow Talk," came with a music video starring Hadid. It's steamy and sexy and added one very important piece of work to the musician-supermodel music video oeuvre.

May 2, 2016: Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik make their Met Gala debut as a couple

Following their first fashion spread for Vogue in April 2016, Hadid and Malik made their Met Gala red carpet debut as a couple. The two attended "Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology" arm in metal-clad arm alongside Hadid's sister, Bella, and her then-beau, The Weeknd.

June 2016: Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik break up

Shocking fans everywhere, Hadid and Malik broke up. In what was a sign of things to come, sources told E! News that it was likely they'd get back together.

"Zayn and Gigi did break up, but they can likely get back together tomorrow," the source said. "It's all very unclear what's going on between them now."

July 8, 2016: Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik get back together

To keep things interesting, Hadid shared a photo on Instagram that seemed to indicate that she and Malik were back together just a month following their breakup.

January 2017: Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik spark engagement rumors

The first engagement rumors started to surface in early 2017. Hadid gave an interview to British Vogue saying that while she and Malik seem like a high-glam couple, the truth is they just like to stay in.

"When I'm in L.A. I mostly stay in because it's my time off, and I like being with my boyfriend and doing art and cooking," she said. "We like late-night movies, and we order from this amazing place that does lattes and gingerbread cookies. I need coffee to stay up. I'm always like, 'Babe, let's go to a movie.' Then I fall asleep halfway through, and he's like, 'You've seen the first half of every movie out there, and you have no idea how any of them end.'"

October 31, 2017: Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik celebrate Halloween

Coordinating Halloween costumes happened. Malik isn't shy about his love of superheroes and comic books (check out his tattoos for all the proof you need), and it seems like he managed to get Hadid to join the fun.

March 13, 2018: Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik break up for a second time

The two released statements on social media, letting everybody know they were done.

"Gigi and I had an incredibly meaningful, loving and fun relationship and I have a huge amount of respect and adoration for Gigi as a woman and a friend. She has such an incredible soul. I'm grateful to all of our fans for respecting this difficult decision and our privacy at this time…" Malik wrote.

Hadid posted, "Breakup statements often seem impersonal because there is really no way to put into words what two people experience together over a few years .. not only in the relationship, but in life in general. I'm forever grateful for the love, time, and life lessons that Z and I shared. I want nothing but the best for him and will continue to support him as a friend that I have immense respect and love for. As for the future, whatever's meant to be will always be. xG." 

April 29, 2018: Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik show some PDA

TMZ reported the two were seen kissing in New York City. That breakup didn't last very long, though neither party offered an official statement on any sort of reconciliation.

A couple of months later, Malik gave an interview with GQ that gave readers some insight into his relationship with Hadid. However, he didn't go as far as saying they were back together.

"We're still really good friends, and we're still in contact," he said. "We're adults. We don't need to put a label on it, make it something for people's expectations."

November 2019: Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik are (maybe) back together

After Hadid's sizzling, albeit short-lived, romance with The Bachelorette contestant Tyler Cameron over the summer, fans speculated that she and Malik were allegedly back together again by fall. 

"They went through a phase where they took time apart and weren't communicating at all, but they have been in touch recently," a source revealed to E!.

"She is supportive of him. They chat here and there, but it's been casual."

January 12, 2020: Gigi Hadid celebrates Zayn Malik's birthday

It was a family affair for Malik's 27th birthday. The Hadid sisters, Malik, and Dua Lipa were all seen celebrating at Il Buco in New York City.

The following month, Hadid posted a snapshot of Malik on her photography account, @Gisposable.

April 30, 2020: Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik are expecting

In April 2020, Hadid announced her pregnancy. She and Malik were quarantining at her family's Pennsylvania farm when she told Jimmy Fallon that while the rumors weren't ideal, she wanted to let everyone know that she was happy and healthy.

"Obviously, you know, we wish we could've announced it on our own terms, but we're very excited and happy and grateful for everyone's well wishes and support," Hadid said.

September 19, 2020: Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik welcome their first child together

Hadid and Malik welcomed their first child, daughter Khai, in September 2020, reported People. On Twitter, Malik announced the birth with a sweet post. 

He wrote, "Our baby girl is here, healthy & beautiful. to try put into words how i am feeling right now would be an impossible task. The love i feel for this tiny human is beyond my understanding. Grateful to know her, proud to call her mine, & thankful for the life we will have together."

The Next In Fashion co-host posted her own note on Instagram writing, "Our girl joined us earth-side this weekend and she's already changed our world."

October 2021: Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik separate

Following reports of an alleged altercation between Malik and Yolanda, the "Bradford Bad Boy" reportedly pleaded no contest to harassment charges. The incident seemed to be the culmination of the couple's "super toxic" relationship and triggered its end.

Sources confirmed to People that the longtime partners split. 

"They are not together right now. They are both good parents, though," a family friend of the Hadids told the publication. "They co-parent. Yolanda is, of course, very protective of Gigi. She wants the best for her daughter and grandchild."

In response to initial reports of conflict between Malik and Yolanda, Gigi's team released the following statement: "Gigi is solely focused on the best for Khai. She asks for privacy during this time."