Zayn Malik knows it sounds excessive. He said it anyway.
Appearing on the Call Her Daddy podcast with Alex Cooper, the former One Direction singer opened up about fatherhood, co-parenting, and a domestic disagreement that quickly turned into internet discourse. The headline number: £500 — roughly $680 — slipped under his five-year-old daughter Khai’s pillow courtesy of the tooth fairy.
“It was her first tooth,” Zayn said, half-defensive, half-amused. He shares Khai with model Gigi Hadid, and while the pair have largely kept their co-parenting arrangement private since their 2021 split, this detail made it public. According to Zayn, Gigi “gave me shit about it.” His position was clear: he works hard, he didn’t grow up with much, and he wants to give his child what he can.
Cooper, echoing what many parents were likely thinking, sided with Hadid. The practical question hung in the air — what’s the difference between $5 and $500 to a child that age? Online reaction followed predictable lines. Some called it indulgent. Others framed it as poor judgment. A few defended him, pointing to his background and his right to spend his money as he sees fit.
Zayn addressed that criticism head-on. He said he was “lucky if I got anything” for his own lost teeth growing up. The gesture, in his view, wasn’t about optics. It was about breaking a cycle — a father trying to give more than he had.
The broader conversation, though, isn’t about one envelope of cash. It’s about how celebrity parents balance wealth with normalcy. Hadid has been praised by some fans for presenting a grounded, low-key childhood for Khai, one centered on routine rather than runway flash. Zayn, meanwhile, leaned into sentimentality. He even said he plans to frame the tooth.
There’s no scandal here. Just two wealthy parents negotiating values in real time — one errant tooth at a time.
Last modified: February 16, 2026
