The ascent to fame is as rocky as it is ecstatic. Stories of childhood stars who have reached the heady heights and had a hard descent have become sadly standard.
One minute the story is what an adorable teenybopper they are. The next, the story is about their bleary-eyed mug shot, drug overdose, infidelity, shaved head, mental breakdown or stint in rehab.
The pressures and hedonistic unreality of the limelight appear to have become overwhelming for One Direction boybander, Zayn Malik, who on Wednesday announced he was leaving the band.
"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," he said, leading 1D fans to lose their minds.
The departure comes one week after pictures emerged of the Brit singer cosying up with a girl other than his fiancee, Perrie Edwards.
Malik immediately dropped out of One Direction's "On The Road" tour, citing "stress", flew home to see his fiancee and hit back on Twitter at the cheating allegations.
'I'm 22 years old... I love a girl named Perrie Edwards. And there's a lot of jealous f---s in this world I'm sorry for what it looks like x.'
I'm 22 years old... I love a girl named Perrie Edwards. And there's a lot of jealous f---s in this world I'm sorry for what it looks like x — zaynmalik1D (@zaynmalik)
March 18, 2015
Given the hysteria and avid obsession of 1D's fans, it's hard to imagine what "normal" can possibly look like for Malik.
But, despite how many stars have lost the plot in public, others have managed to keep a semblance of sanity amid the madness.
Kate Ritchie spent 20 years in the public eye, growing up as Sally on Home and Away.
"I wasn't treated like a celebrity," she has said, offering an insight into how she escaped relatively unscathed and didn't end up in crack den, dribbling gin.
This is significant.
"Years of adulation and money and things quickly become normal, and then, just as they get used to it all, they hit puberty – which is a serious job hazard when your job is being cute," wrote Mara Wilson, the cute kid in Mrs Doubtfire, on the perils of growing up in the public eye.
Added Ritchie: "Both my mum and dad are probably as far from stage parents as you can get. I mean my dad's a policeman and me getting into the industry was really as a result of my dad wanting us to do things that would make sure that we weren't shy kids."
This is rare among child stars, Wilson says.
"I chose to start acting when I was five. It was my decision, and my parents tried their hardest to discourage me. When I insisted, they allowed me to act, but were always very protective of me.
"I saw many child actors who did not have that, and they were all miserable. Kids whose parents pushed them into acting often grow up to resent them. They never had a choice, and worse, they never had the chance to be a kid."
The constant media attention and public scrutiny doesn't help.
"That's when it starts to upset you because you think, please don't claim to know everything about me," Ritchie said. "Like, I've shared so much of my life with you anyway, please don't then want to own that bit of me as well."
Even kids who were famous by proxy can feel the heat from having their every move watched.
"Growing up I was under immense pressure being the daughter of such a famous woman," Olivia Newton-John's daughter, Chloe has said.
"You don't have a normal childhood and you don't have that space to make mistakes and find your feet, as everyone is watching you.
"I started to get into the party scene, drinking every night, and then before long I got introduced to cocaine, and all of a sudden the combination of those things took away all the fear and depression, and that is when the cycle began."
Plenty of celebrities who have slipped in the limelight have made staggering recoveries. Others have not.
For Malik, realising he's not coping and deciding to step away and reassess is a good thing. After all, he is just a 22-year-old kid and there is more than just one direction the route of fame can take.
Fairfax Media
