Zayn Malik and Perrie Edwards Call Off Engagement

Zayn Malik and Perrie Edwards (Instagram)
Zayn Malik and Perrie Edwards (Instagram)

Prepare for the Internet to implode: Former One Directioner Zayn Malik and his longtime love, Little Mix singer Perrie Edwards, have called off their engagement, The Insider With Yahoo confirms.

A source told People that "Malik contacted Edwards two weeks ago and said it was over." "She's putting a brave face as Little Mix have had promotion to do, but she's obviously devastated," the source added.

Related: Celebrity Breakups of 2015

The pair, now both 22 years old, first met on the set of U.K.'s The X Factor in late 2011, and they got engaged in August 2013. Despite the ages of the rising star duo, their parents were on board. "I'm over the moon. They are really in love," Perrie's mom, Debbie Duffy, told her local newspaper.

Despite being dogged by constant questions about the wedding as well as rumors of a split, the pair remained strong. In early March, Zayn was photographed with his arm around another woman in a nightclub in Thailand, but he quickly denied any wrongdoing and tweeted, "I'm 22 years old ... I love a girl named Perrie Edwards."

Related: Zayn Malik Breaks Silence After Exiting One Direction

A few weeks later, Perrie stood proudly by Zayn when made the decision to leave One Direction, and Zayn described her to The Sun as "a good girl" and "always supportive." In fact, while Zayn claimed he left the group to live his life as a "normal 22-year-old," former bandmate Liam Payne pointed fingers at the young woman.

"Sometimes you have to move on because you're not enjoying what you're doing as much as you used to," Payne told Capital FM in May. "He wanted to spend time with his family and his missus."

Sure enough, one of Zayn's first actions as a solo artist was to take his lady on vacation in the South of France in April.

Well, now he's solo and single. Zayn announced his new record deal with RCA last week.