Louis Tomlinson‘s late mother, Johannah Deakin, wanted him to mend fences with his former One Direction bandmate Zayn Malik before her death last year.
“My mum said, ‘You’ve got to get back in contact with Zayn. Life’s too f–king short,'” Tomlinson, 25, recalled in a candid interview with The Sun, published on Thursday, July 20. “A mother’s intuition is just f–king crazy. It always felt supernatural to me. My mum always knew what I was feeling and what I wanted.”
Deakin died at the age of 43 in December 2016 after a battle with leukemia. Since then, the “Back to You” singer has reconciled with Malik, 24. “I can’t stand to hold a grudge with anyone. It doesn’t sit with me right,” Tomlinson told The Sun. “If there is any animosity, just clear the air. I met up with him and it was nice.”
Before the “Pillowtalk” crooner announced he was leaving the boy band in May 2015, he and Tomlinson were arguably one of the tightest pairs of the five original One Direction members. “I would always see the good in Zayn and also watch him shoot himself in the foot with some of his decisions, but he’s just a little misunderstood,” Tomlinson said of Malik.
“I could always break the rules a little bit with Zayn,” he continued. “So after that whole thing, it was that brotherly love. We will always have that love for each other. I can’t speak on behalf of him but we really care about each other.”
The “Just Hold On” singer, who is readying his debut solo album, also opened up about the loss of his mother. “Throughout the time after my mum died I felt the support,” he told The Sun. “It stretched past the fan base. People did have my back, it was a really nice feeling. … I’m thankful that my mum pushed everything onto me because I know I’m dealing with it really well.”