Just four months after he left One Direction seemingly in order to boost their relationship, news has emerged that Zayn Malik has abruptly called off his engagement to fiancée Perrie Edwards.

The former 1D star, who is in the process of launching a solo career, has left 22 year old Little Mix star Perrie “devastated” after ending their relationship a fortnight ago. A source close to the ex-couple told MailOnline on Tuesday (August 4th): “Perrie is absolutely devastated. Zayn called off the engagement two weeks ago, she's so upset.”

Perrie EdwardsPerrie Edwards promoting Little Mix's single last week, after splitting with Zayn Malik

This has been bad timing for Edwards, since she’s having to get over her long-term relationship at the same time as promoting Little Mix’s latest single ‘Black Magic’ in the US. “Perrie is being a trooper about it and putting on a brave face but she's devastated," the source continued. "She's doesn't know what he's thinking. She's going to go out and promote the new single but obviously the timing could not be worse, especially when she's going to be doing so many interviews.”

More: Zayn decided to quit 1D by himself, says Perrie Edwards

Official statements have not yet been released by either side, but an unnamed source close to Edwards and Little Mix told People: “Perrie's being supported by her bandmates, but she's really in pieces about this,” while somebody close to Zayn told Us Weekly that the 22 year old wanted “a fresh start”, claiming “he just wanted to move on and start over in all ways.”

Edwards had previously become a hate figure for heartbroken 1D fans when Zayn announced he was leaving the group back in March, with some casting her as a kind of Yoko Ono figure for prising him away from their idols. Among other issues such as exhaustion with the band’s relentless touring schedule, he had said that he wanted to live a “normal” life as a 22 year old.

Just a few weeks before that, he had been snapped in Thailand with his arm around Lauren Richardson, with Perrie then appearing in public without her engagement ring claiming it was at the cleaners. While Zayn quickly apologised for how it looks and tweeted his love for Perrie, it was enough to get many media outlets gossiping.

More: Zayn Malik signs to RCA for solo career