EXCLUSIVE: 'This is the worst case scenario': Father of tattooed blonde Zayn Malik was seen cosying up to in Thailand speaks out after 1D heartthrob quits band

One Direction was first plunged into crisis last week when pictures emerged of Zayn Malik cosying up to tattooed blonde Lauren Richardson in Phuket, Thailand.

He was granted a leave of absence from the band's On The Road tour for 'stress' as he flew back to the UK for crisis talks with fiancee Perrie Edwards before the 22-year-old announced on Wednesday that he had decided to leave the group for good.

And while fans are heartbroken, Lauren's father David admitted to MailOnline at the family home in Walthamstow, east London today that 'this is the worst case scenario'. 

When asked how the attention had affected his family, he said: 'Try it some time, see how you feel.' 

Zayn was holidaying in Phuket with fellow band member Louis Tomlinson when he was pictured holding hands and                                                      with 19-year-old girl, Lauren, last week.

Two pictures, including one that saw Zayn resting a hand on the same girl's midriff in an embrace and another of him leaving the Seduction nightclub with the girl, quickly went viral on social media.

As a result flew straight home for 'crisis talks' with girlfriend Perrie Edwards, who he has been engaged to just over a year.

Zayn tweeted about the most recent incident to publicly apologise for 'what it looked like' and declare his love for the Little Mix singer, shortly after the incriminating pictures surfaced.