Throwback: Liam Payne’s 2017 Birthday Wish to Zayn Melted Hearts On January 12, 2017, Liam Payne surprised fans by publicly wishing Zayn Malik a happy 24th birthday on Twitter, writing, “@zaynmalik Happy birthday bro! Hope all is well and you have a good day celebrating it.” At a time when post-1D interactions were rare, the heartfelt gesture reignited hope among Directioners and sparked a social media frenzy.