MUMBAI: Model Gigi Hadid's friends are not impressed by her new beau and former One Direction member Zayn Malik.

"Her friends do not quite understand what the attraction is. He is not her usual type, he doesn't share her sense of humour or ease with people (and) he's a little more self-aware and awkward," a source told eonline.com.

Hadid has previously dated singers Joe Jonas and Cody Simpson while Malik dumped fiancée Perrie Edwards earlier this year.

Just a few days ago, Hadid took to her Twitter account to defend her new romance after a number of photographs emerged of her and Malik holding hands on a date night in Los Angeles.

In a post that has now been deleted, she reportedly wrote: "Sometimes life happens. For whatever reason in whatever timing. And sometimes it doesn't make sense till it does. That's it."

"If there was a real way to sit with each one of you and tell you my side of things, I would. But there's not, so I won't. I've found the only way to happiness is by living as though the microscope isn't there."