Former Little Mix member Perrie Edwards announced the arrival of her second baby, Alanis Valentine, on Saturday, January 17, 2026 with a sweet black-and-white photo of the newborn. The 32-year-old announced she was expecting the baby on September 6.
Edwards was a member of the girl group British girl group from 2011, when they were formed on “The X Factor,” until they went on hiatus in 2022. She was famously engaged to One Direction star Zayn Malik from 2013 to 2015.
Three weeks before announcing the birth of Alanis, Edwards shared a sweet set of family photos on Instagram. In the first shot, she posed by a Christmas tree with her fiancé, English soccer player Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and their 4-year-old son, Axel. In the rest of the snaps, the family was seen having more holiday fun.
Zayn Malik Famously Declared His Love for Perrie Edwards Right Before Abruptly Quitting One Direction, But They Split 5 Months Later
In a tweet heard around the world, Zayn took to Twitter right before officially departing from One Direction and cryptically wrote, “I’m 22 years old… I love a girl named Perrie Edwards. And there’s a lot of jealous [people] in this world I’m sorry for what it looks like.”
The tweet was posted on March 18, 2015, shortly after Zayn quit the Asian leg of the band’s On the Road Again tour. The BBC quoted the band as saying in a statement, “Zayn has been signed off with stress and is flying back to the UK to recuperate. The band wish him well and will continue with their performances in Manila and Jakarta.”
In August of that year, Zayn signed with RCA records as a solo artist, and news broke the same month that and Edwards had ended their engagement the same month. Zayne responded to rumors he had broken up with her via text message in a Fader magazine interview where he said, “I love her a lot, and I always will, and I would never end our relationship over four years like that.”
What Zayn Said About Quitting One Direction
Zayn ended up quitting not only the tour, but the band as well. In the “journal” section of One Direction’s official website, they supplied a statement from Zayn that read, “”My life with One Direction has been more than I could ever have imagined. But, after five years, I feel like it is now the right time for me to leave the band. I’d like to apologise to the fans if I’ve let anyone down, but I have to do what feels right in my heart. I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight. I know I have four friends for life in Louis, Liam, Harry and Niall. I know they will continue to be the best band in the world.”
The remaining bandmates also released a statement, which read, “We’re really sad to see Zayn go, but we totally respect his decision and send him all our love for the future. The past five years have been beyond amazing, we’ve gone through so much together, so we will always be friends. The four of us will now continue. We’re looking forward to recording the new album and seeing all the fans on the next stage of the world tour.”
