NEWSGigi Hadid Defends Ex Zayn Mailk After Fan Accuses Singer of Skipping Their Daughter Khai's 5th Birthday Party
Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik were both with their daughter on her special day.
Sept. 24 2025, Published 1:34 p.m. ET
Gigi Hadid is still protective of ex Zayn Mailk, the father of her daughter, nearly four years after their split.
On Monday, September 22, the model posted photos from a birthday party she threw for daughter Khai when she turned 5 — but the singer didn't appear in any of the pictures.
Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik Celebrated Daughter's Birthday
Gigi Hadid confirmed daughter Khai spent her birthday with both of her parents.
His absence prompted one fan to comment on the upload, "wish her dad would also be there..." to which the blonde beauty, 30, replied, "She was with us both on her birthday!! 🩷."
Hadid's snaps included two of her hugging Khai and kissing the tot while she sat on the star's lap outside and a few of the colorful party decor.
"Celebrating you is the Best Day Ever, every year. Happy 5th Birthday to the light of my life! You are truly everything✨✨⚡️⚡️⚡️," the Guest in Residence designer captioned the post. "So lucky & proud to be your mama!!!!!!! 🧁 (p.s. 5 HOW ?!?)🥹."
The model and the singer dated on and off from 2015 to 2021 before splitting up for good.
The One Direction alum, 32, didn't post on social media for his child's birthday this year, though he did share a photo holding her while at the beach in 2024.
"Happy birthday to the most important person in my life, I love you more than words allow me to express, beyond proud to call you my daughter," he gushed at the time. "Grateful for every second I get to spend next to you, as you become the incredible person I know you already are. Four years ago today my life changed forever and I wouldn’t be the man I am today without you."
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Inside the Exes' Co-Parenting Relationship
The mom-of-one insisted she and Malik 'have each other's backs' after their split.
Hadid and the British star dated on and off from 2015 to 2021, with the former giving birth in 2020.
Earlier this year, the mom-of-one gave a rare comment on their co-parenting relationship.
"Zayn and I do our custody schedules months in advance," she told Vogue. "That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t change here and there, but we help each other out and have each other’s backs."
The exes have 'so much respect for each other' despite parting ways, Hadid said.
"There is the hard part of the world knowing this much, and thinking they know everything," she noted of the public's critiques. "And at the end of the day, we’re not interested in giving everyone our whole story. What we are interested in is raising our daughter together, with so much respect for each other and not just as co-parents, but what we’ve been through together."
Hadid has been in a relationship with actor Bradley Cooper, 50, since late 2023.
