Zayn Malik baffles Bella Hadid with his Northern accent

Zayn Malik baffled Bella Hadid when they first met, because she couldn't understand his accent.

The former One Direction star has been dating Bella's model sister Gigi on and off since November (15). However, one thing that Bella has been struggling with since her sibling paired up with the singer is getting to grips with his way of speaking. Zayn is from the Northern town of Bradford in England, and consequently has a strong Northern accent.

"At the beginning I didn’t understand a lot of what he was saying and would just go ‘Oh that’s funny’ and nod along. But I’m slowly getting there," Bella told Britain's The Sun newspaper.

In an attempt to win Bella over, the Pillowtalk singer has even been attempting to teach her some local slang from his hometown. But Bella admits it's not going too well.

"He has been trying to teach me the northern lingo, he just speaks the way he speaks and that’s it, I guess," she smiled.

Zayn played the role of supportive boyfriend as he attended the Tom Ford New York Fashion Week show on Wednesday night (07Sep16) to support girlfriend Gigi, who was walking in the presentation.

The 23-year-old looked dapper wearing a double-breasted black suit over a black roll neck top, teamed with a full beard and artfully styled quiff.

While Zayn looked in good spirits for the occasion, he has been struggling in recent months to manage his overwhelming levels of anxiety.

Earlier this week (ends11Sep16), the handsome singer pulled out of a scheduled gig in the United Arab Emirates on 7 October (16), saying that despite his attempts to combat the condition, he doesn't feel performance ready yet.

“I have been working over the last three months to overcome my extreme anxiety around major live solo performances,” he said in a statement. “I feel I am making progress but I have today acknowledged that I do not feel sufficiently confident to move forward with the planned show in Dubai in October.”

His decision came after he pulled out of the Summertime Ball in London earlier this year (16) for the same reasons.