Niall Horan insists there's "no bad blood" between himself and Zayn Malik, after recently confirming they are no longer friends.

Niall Horan

Niall Horan

The 'Slow Hands' hitmaker said earlier this week he doesn't keep in contact with his former One Direction bandmate following a "falling out" the pair had a few years ago, after Zayn quit the band in 2015.

And now, Niall has doubled down on claims Zayn, 27, is "hard to keep in touch with", but has insisted he will always support his music releases, as there's no drama between them.

Speaking to The Sun newspaper's Bizarre column, he said: "He's quite a hard fella to keep in touch with. He'd probably tell you that himself, to be fair. I don't particularly talk to him a lot.

"I mean, if he's got something coming out or something I will text him. He might not reply but I'll give him a shout, but I don't know ... After the band, he left for his reasons and then he never really spoke to us much afterwards.

"I've got no bad blood with him at all but some things have a lifespan. I don't know. We will see what happens. Maybe one day we can reconvene at some point, but not right now."

Niall's comments come after he brushed off the idea of a reconciliation, saying he wouldn't consider Zayn someone he's "friends" with.

He explained: "As long as I've known him, Zayn's been the hardest man to stay in touch with. Then we had a falling out a few years ago and, to be honest, that's just the dynamic: you have people you are friends with and people you are not."

One Direction went on hiatus in late 2015 just months after Zayn's departure, and Niall recently said he does keep in touch with his other bandmates, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and Liam Payne.

Niall, 26, particularly keeps in contact with Louis and Liam, as he often wants to know how their kids - Freddie Reign Tomlinson, four, and Bear Grey Payne, two, respectively - are doing.

He added: "We don't get to see each other as much as we'd like to, but we try. I talk to Louis a lot. It's the lads with the kids that you try to keep in touch with especially, just to see how they are."