Former One Direction singer Zayn Malik and US model Gigi Hadid have welcomed a “healthy and beautiful” baby girl.

Malik announced the birth of their child by sharing a black-and-white picture of the baby girl’s tiny hand clutching his finger.

He wrote:

Our baby girl is here, healthy & beautiful to try put into words how i am feeling right now would be an impossible task. The love i feel for this tiny human is beyond my understanding.Grateful to know her, proud to call her mine, & thankful for the life we will have together 

Gigi and Zayn have been together on-and-off since late 2015 and confirmed the pregnancy news earlier this year. Hadid, 25, confirmed she was expecting in April while appearing on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. She told the US chat show host that she and Malik were “happy and grateful for everyone’s well wishes and support”.

Earlier this week, Hadid’s father Mohamed wrote in a caption on Instagram that he was “waiting patiently” for the baby. He added that:

 “grandpa” was “here and waiting to meet you… so excited”.