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One Direction may have been putting out happy-go-lucky songs, but behind closed doors, something much darker was going on with member Zayn Malik, 23. On the heels of his shocking anxiety issues announcement, the former boy band member admits that he went through a period of not eating! “Something I’ve never talked about in public before, but which I have come to terms with since leaving the band, is that I was suffering from an eating disorder,” he writes in an excerpt from his highly-anticipated book, Zayn, which comes out Nov. 1.

We hate to say it, but the tattooed hottie looked visibly thinner in the summer of 2013. Zayn’s legs were pin-thin, and his whole body appeared frail. “It wasn’t as though I had any concerns about my weight or anything like that, I’d just go for days — sometimes two or three days straight — without eating anything at all,” he continues. It unfortunately was that eating disorder that forced Zayn to remove himself from One Direction.

See Pics Of Zayn Malik’s ‘Pillowtalk’ Video

In more uplifting news, Zayn looks noticeably happier and healthier now, and it may be because Gigi Hadid is having such a positive influence of him. The blonde bombshell has been holding Zayn’s hand during his ongoing struggle with anxiety, and even helped him prepare for public appearances such as New York Fashion Week. “Zayn’s anxiety is so much better in the last few months because of Gigi,” a source told HollywoodLife.com EXCLUSIVELY. “He was so nervous about NWFW because of all the crowds, but she really helped him get through it.” They’re seriously so cute together!

HollywoodLifers, are you shocked to hear of Zayn’s troubling eating disorder?