Malik quit the boyband in March (15) and his pop star fiancee Edwards came under fire from fans, who blamed her for his departure, which was announced shortly after he was accused of cheating on her while on tour in Thailand.

Edwards' mum Perrie has now spoken out to insist the Little Mix singer was not responsible for Malik's exit, telling Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper, "It was his decision and nothing to do with Perrie.

"They've always been happy... Zayn's one of the nicest boys I've ever met and I couldn't imagine Perrie with anyone else... I feel like he's already my son, they've been together since she was on The X Factor so he's part of the family."

The pair began dating in 2012 and has been engaged since 2013. Both One Direction and Little Mix formed on Simon Cowell's U.K. reality TV show The X Factor.