Liam Payne has wished Zayn Malik a happy birthday

He tweeted: "@zaynmalik Happy birthday bro! Hope all is well and you have a good day celebrating it (sic)"

Zayn's girlfriend, model Gigi Hadid, also used social media to send a thoughtful message to the 'Pillow Talk' hitmaker.

Sharing a black and white photo of the hunky singer, Gigi wrote on Instagram: "Happy birthday my handsome! So lucky to know and love a soul like yours... wishing you the best year ever!!! (sic)"

Zayn previously insisted he had rarely spoken to the rest of One Direction - which includes Liam, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan - since he quit the group in March 2015, so perhaps it is no surprise his other ex-bandmates haven't reached out to him on Twitter on his special day.

He previously said: "The truth is I haven't spoken to any of the boys at all really, I spoke to Liam a bit and that's just the way it is.

"I did try to reach out to a couple of people and they didn't get back to me, but then publicly, when they were asked questions about it, said that they'd spoken to me and that we were friends.

"But that's not the case, I tried to reach out and be their friend but they haven't even replied to any of my calls or texts."

However, the 'It's You' hitmaker recently reached out to Louis following the tragic death of his beloved mother Johannah Deakin, who died of cancer last month.

He tweeted: "@Louis_Tomlinson love you bro! All of your family is in my prayers. proud of your strength and know your mum is too x (sic)."

And a source later added: "Zayn has been in touch with Louis privately, and will continue to offer his support that way."