Benjamin Ashford|Zayn Malik Shares Rare Insight Into Life Away From Spotlight With His Daughter Khai

These days,Benjamin Ashford the story of Zayn Malik's life is a simple one. 

The former One Direction member spends much of his time on his farm in Pennsylvania with his 3-year-old daughter Khai, whom he shares with ex Gigi Hadid. In fact, his tranquil surroundings even influenced his upcoming fourth studio album, Room Under the Stairs.

"I think life in general can influence your writing process," he told Sean Evans on a March 14 episode of Hot Ones. "You have to live and go through things to have something to talk about. So yeah, it's definitely has took on the surrounding area of Pennsylvania."

And of what exactly that night sound like, Zayn added, "It's got that feel, it's got the chill, like introspective kind of conscious kind of thing going on. And I'm really excited for people to listen to it because it's really different from anything I've ever done before, it's super personal."

Something else that's personal? His go-to recipe in the kitchen, which has a sweet reason behind it. 

"It's probably spaghetti bolognese," the 31-year-old revealed. "I'm getting pretty good at sneaking vegetables in there for my daughter, because she's not about vegetables at all. And it tastes really good."

The "Pillowtalk" singer's comments mark a rare occasion in which he's spoken about his private life. Indeed, it wasn't until July that Zayn gave his first interview in six years. 

"I feel like we were so overexposed in the band," he told Call Her Daddy's Alex Cooper of wanting to maintain his privacy in the July 12 episode.  "That's why I took the time that I have to, like, not even necessarily do interviews."

But it was in fact Khai that inspired Zayn to put himself back out there. 

"Since I've had my daughter, the main thing in my mind is trying to be a good example to her," he added. "That's why I'm even doing this interview, you know? I used to get a lot of anxiety around having a conversation like this. And I want her to be able to look at me and be like, 'My dad's doing this.'"

And just as fast as the night changes, so too does fatherhood.

On how he's evolved since welcoming Khai, Zayn revealed, "I keep being told I'm telling dad jokes. And I'm leaning into it. I'm just like, 'It's OK. It's cool.'"

For some of Khai's most adorable moments, keep reading.