Simon Cowell 'really sad' about Zayn Malik's One Direction departure, says Sinitta

Simon Cowell is "really sad" about Zayn Malik's decision to leave One Direction, his long-term friend Sinitta has revealed.

The 22-year-old singer crushed the hearts of millions of 'Directioners' from around the world after announcing his decision to leave the band with immediate effect on the band's Facebook page on Wednesday.

Malik, who found fame with the group, revealed the reason behind his decision was to pursue a "normal" life after suffering from stress in recent weeks.

Music mogul Cowell, 55, who brought the group together on the X Factor in 2010, is "really proud" but also "really sad as well", according to his close friend Sinitta.

"Simon just said that he's really proud," she said.

"He's really proud and I think he's always known that this was always a reluctant thing for Zayn to do, so the fact that he's managed to stay this long and done so well, I think he's really proud of him but obviously we're really sad as well."

The news of Malik's departure has hit his fellow band members Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson hard, with all four breaking their silence on the matter on Wednesday.

Styles, 21, who broke down in tears at the band’s concert in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Wednesday night, took to Twitter this morning, posting: “ All the love as always. H.”

Payne also tweeted his thoughts, saying: "So glad to be in bed after a long and strange 24 hours.”

Malik's exit has had a devastating effect on some One Direction fans, and there are fears for the safety of some after the hashtag '#cut4zayn' emerged on Twitter.

ChildLine is available to support anyone who wants to talk about the issue, both by phone and online, where there are message boards and forums for young people to discuss their feelings with other youngsters.

To contact ChildLine, call 0800 11 11 or visit www.childline.org.uk.