One Direction has publicly set aside their private issues with Zayn Malik's departure, with Louis Tomlinson admitting he can't hold his tongue/typing thumbs on Twitter, and the band thanking their "brother" at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards. Now, Liam Payne has shared why he believes Zayn left the band.

In an interview with London's Capital FM that aired this morning (May 20), "Sometimes you have to just move on because you're not enjoying what you're doing as much as you used to sort of thing, so, you know...he wanted to go spend time with is family, obviously with his missus, so."

The singer continued, "He's just off doing his thing, man. That's cool with us. We're just going to keep going, keep flying the flag." You can listen to the interview clip above.

You know what? It's cool with us too. While we were just as sad as everybody else when the news broke on March 25, the reasons Liam is naming here are all completely understandable. Being in one of the world's biggest bands requires an unforgiving schedule of tours, awards shows and TV appearances, and wanting to place personal relationships first is an honorable choice — at 22 years old, a lot of people Zayn's age would be graduating college and backpacking in remote corners of Europe to find themselves.  Let's all let Zayn find himself (and hopefully find a way to release some great solo music as soon as possible).

The one unfortunate thing about Liam's thoughtful remarks is the fact that it further provokes the very-tired-out "Perrie is the new Yoko" comments that have persisted from fans and X Factor judges alike. Just as no single event (and no single band member's spouse) was responsible for the breakup of The Beatles, Perrie is not some meddling devil woman who drove a wedge between 1D with demands for Zayn's time. She's just a young woman who loves her super-hot boyfriend, and keeps busy with a group of her own. Even as a joke, it's time to ditch the Yoko comparisons and get some fresh material —and while you think of it, why not listen to Little Mix's "Black Magic"?

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