One Direction stars clear up Zayn Malik split fall-out rumors

One Direction reassured fans they are staying together following Zayn Malik's departure from the boy band in March (15), during a candid TV chat on Thursday (14May15).

Malik quit the group in a bid to be a "normal" 22 year old, prompting the remaining foursome to continue an Asian tour without him.

Now the dust has settled, bandmates Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles and Niall Horan have opened up about his departure during an appearance on pal James Corden's late-night show.

Addressing the break-up, Payne said, "At first we were a little bit angry, obviously, we were surprised, but I think we all kind of knew the general vibe that Zayn was feeling... There's certain parts of this job that Zayn loved and certain parts of the job that he didn't.

"You've got to follow your heart sometimes and go where you need to go. There's no argument when you do that. We were angry at first, but then it was just a bit more disappointed (sic). But we wish him the best of luck with whatever he gets up to and stuff and there's no hard feelings."

Horan insisted the remaining four bandmates never once considered splitting up for good: "The four of us love every part of it... The fans deserve it; they've been absolutely fantastic to us... The shows have been great and we're in the studio at the minute... and we're looking forward to bringing out the new record and going on more tours and stuff."

Tomlinson also addressed the rift between himself and Malik following a war of words on Twitter.com, prompting the ex-One Direction star to tweet, "@Louis_Tomlinson remember when you had a life and stopped making b**chy comments about mine?"

The pop star told Corden, "There's been a bit of back and forth. I think we're on good terms again... I've never been very good at biting my tongue... Twitter's great for connecting with the fans but also if you feel like saying something you probably shouldn't, it's also good for that as well... It's all resolved."