On Tuesday, he unveiled a dramatic transformation, when he stepped out sporting bleach blond hair and beard on the set of his latest music video in Miami.
And on Thursday morning, Zayn Malik continued to display his new look as he relaxed shirtless by the glistening swimming pool at his rented mansion.
The 25-year-old pop heartthrob – whose new look hearkens back to the video for his 2016 track Pillowtalk, which starred his supermodel ex Gigi Hadid – updated his appearance slightly, returning his beard to its raven roots.
Showing off his extensive range of tattoos – including his rose inking, which some fans have dubbed a ‘rat’s tail’ – the former One Direction star puffed on a cigarette as he soaked up the balmy rays of the Floridian city.
Zayn initially arrived at the pool wearing a powder blue short-sleeved shirt teamed with a pair of red shorts, soon shedding his top as he rested on a sun lounger.
Eagle-eyed fans may have noticed that Zayn last bleached his locks around the time he released his debut single Pillowtalk, when he was still very much in the throes of his romance with model Gigi.
Last week, Zayn settled days of speculation over the state of his romance with the American stunner, when he confirmed their shock split in a statement.
His post on Twitter read: ‘Gigi and I had an incredibly meaningful, loving and fun relationship and I have a huge amount of respect and adoration for Gigi as a woman and a friend. She has such an incredible soul.
‘I’m grateful to all of our fans for respecting this difficult decision and our privacy at this time, we wish this news could have come from us first. We love you all. xZ.’
Just 11 minutes after Zayn put out his post, Gigi released her own statement on the micro-blogging site, writing: ‘Breakup statements often seem impersonal because there is really no way to put into words what two people experience together over a few years.. not only in the relationship, but in life in general.
‘I’m forever grateful for the love, time, and life lessons that Z and I shared. I want nothing but the best for him and will continue to support him as a friend that I have immense respect and love for. As for the future, whatever’s meant to be will always be. xG.’
Earlier in the day, he raised eyebrows when he shared a shirtless selfie on Instagram along with a cryptic caption which read: ‘When Life throws you lemons , catch em so they don’t hit you in the f*****g face.’
Later that day, he returned to the image-sharing app to post a selfie which showed him looking forlorn as he peered down toward the camera lens.
News of the split comes just a handful of months after Bradford-born Zayn took to social media to share a boomerang of himself and Gigi sharing a passionate kiss as they celebrated two years of being together.
Pillowtalk singer Zayn captioned the brief clip: ‘2 yrs w my favorite human.’ [sic]
The former lovebirds recently spent a lot of time apart – and were last pictured together in January – as Gigi walked the world’s runways for fashion month and Los Angeles-based Zayn jetted off to Miami to work on new music.
Zayn had been dating the supermodel since November 2015, six months after he broke up with Little Mix singer fiance Perrie Edwards, 24.
Back in September 2016, Gigi – who began dating Zayn within weeks of splitting from Joe Jonas – gushed about her then fledgling romance with the British singer.
When asked by ES magazine what she found most attractive about her handsome beau, she said: ‘I would say his brain. For the first time, we are both in a relationship where we have very similar interests outside of work and that is really important.
‘We cook a lot together and do art together and we’re each others’ best friends. We both feel we can talk about anything and learn a lot from one another.’
In January, Gigi’s mother Yolanda spoke of her joy of seeing her daughter so in love -adding that she vowed to be there to support the millennial power couple.
She told MailOnline: ‘When you raise your children, I hope I instilled the best in them to make the right choices and turn to me and say “I love this man” then I’m going to love them too.
‘This is their journey and I’m just here to support both of them as long as they make each other happy, working through things then I’m happy.’
Adding that she embraced him like a son, Dutch beauty Yolanda said: ‘He’s a beautiful human being from Bradford, England. He’s from the same background that I’m from, him and I get along great and he’s like a son to me. It’s all good.
‘He has no family here and he’s so far away so I understand that life because I lived that life. I think that I’m just a momma to him.’
Recognise it? Eagle-eyed fans may have noticed that Zayn last bleached his locks around the time he released his debut single Pillowtalk, which also starred ex-girlfriend Gigi
Social media: Zayn also showed off his new blonde hair on Instagram for his more than 27 million followers
Hair he is! Zayn first revealed his bleached blonde locks on Instagram earlier this week, but it seems his light facial hair was a last minute decision