It has been confirmed this afternoon that after five years in the band, Zayn Malik has left One Direction.
And, predictably, it wasn't long before the internet went into complete meltdown over the news.
There was disbelief.
This isn't real it can't be real zayn no
NO THIS CAN'T BE TRUE ZAYN OHH NO PLEASE IM NOT OKAY
@onedirection no way Zayn this can't be true 😭😭😭😭😭😭 ZAYN OH GOD
OH GOD
Like, maybe they were hacked?
Zayn will never leave the band maybe someone hacked their Facebook account
There was panic that the world just wouldn't be the same without him.
WITHOUT ZAYN NOTHING IS THE SAME
THE REST OF THE BOYS CANT BE CALLED ONE DIRECTION BECAUSE ITS NOT ONE DIRECTION WITHOUT ZAYN
People just couldn't see how they would go on.
ZAYN IS LEAVING ONE DIRECTION my life is over RIP me
There were the inevitable "I definitely saw this coming" comments.
I always expected Zayn to be the first to leave, I just didn't expect him to leave so soon :(
Other people weren't so heartbroken.
jesus, Zayn, couldn't you wait til after lunch?
And found time for puns.
ZAYN IS LEAVING ONE DIRECTION THAT IS INZAYN!
This joke was made a couple of times.
Zayn Malik is leaving One Direction, he's apparently going in a different direction.
I guess Zayn Malik's life just wasn't going in the right direction...
And pretty much everyone in the UK made the same damn Jeremy Clarkson joke.
Zayn heard the news about the top gear vacancy. Maybe.
shout out to zayn for drowning out Clarkson today, truly the hero we need.
So, Zayn steps up to take the heat off Clarkson. That was unexpected.
Zayn Malik is replacing Clarkson.
So, basically Clarkson and Zayn are swapping, yes?
There were tears.
WHT IS ZAYN DOING HE CANT LEAV THE BAND IM CRYING
So many tears.
I'M LITERALLY CRYING RIGHT NOW 1D IS NO LONGER 1D WITHOUT ZAYN AND IT WILL ONLY BE A COUPLE MONTHS BEFORE THEY ALL LEAVE 😭
THE FACT THAT WE WILL NEVER GET TO HEAR ZAYN'S HIGH NOTE AGIN IM SPOBBING KILL ME
There was straight-up hysteria.
I HONESTLY THOUGHT ZAYN WAS JUST ON A LITTLE BREAK. I WAS SURE HE WOUKD COME BACK TO US. BUT NO HE LEFT US ALL FOREVER....
ZAYN IS LEAVING THE BAND SKEKSJ IM LITERALLY SHAKING -M
ZAYN LEFTSMDMS SMSMSMA
YOU PROMISED US A CONCERT.
BUT ZAYN YOU PROMISED A CONCERT IN YEAR 2105 YOU CANT LEAVE US NOW
I FEEL SOOO BETRAYED.
I FEEL SOOO BETRAYED BY ZAYN. I CANT EVEN PUT IT INTO WORDS HOW SAD AND HEARTBROKEN I FEEL
I WON'T BELIEVE IT UNTIL ZAYN TWEETS IT.
OK WHAT ABOUT WE ALL DON'T BELIEVE ANYTHING UNTIL ZAYN TWEETS IT
I HATE THIS LIFE.
I JUST WOKE UP AND ZAYN LEFT IM CRYING SO HARD I HATE THIS LIFE
Parts of people's souls were ripped away.
ZAYN LEAVING THE BAND LITERALLY RIPPED A PART OF MY SOUL AWAY OF ME
Hearts were lost.
OH MY GOD I JUST HEARD ABOUT ZAYN AND I FEEL LIKE I LOST A PART OF MY HEART
So much so that people lost control of the keyboard.
HE CMAT DO THIS THWYRE IN THIS TOFWTHWE THIS ISNT THE LART OF ONE DIRECTION ISNT THAT WHAT TOU SAID ZAYN DONT DHJS
The ~media~ was blamed.
thank you, media, thank you for putting so much pressure on zayn that he had no choice but to leave. thank you. thanks.
cant believe zayn left like really wtf if people would have respected him and didnt make lying rumours he probably wouldnt have left
There were calls for imprisonment.
SOMEONE YOUNGER THAN ME ON TWITTER SAID ZAYN IS NOT HER GENERATION, CAN WE HAVE HER JAILED.
Dangerous driving occurred.
oH MY GOD ZAYN IM DRIVING NOT NOW
But, above all, there was support for Zayn.
Guess nobody can joke anymore.. I support Zayn's decision; he deserves his own happiness no matter how "inconvenient" it may be for others
No amount of words or actions can ever describe how much Zayn has done for us. We love you so much
And this heartbreaking realisation. 💔
The saddest thing ever will be when ZaynMalik1D changes his Twitter name in Zayn Malik 💔