Zayn Malik confirms that, yes, Taylor Swift sometimes travels in a suitcase to avoid paparazzi

Zayn Malik (*ahem*: Zayn) has been teasing his sophomore album for what feels like ages now, and a new Vogue profile of the one-time One Directioner offered no more clarity as to when it will arrive. Malik did, however, provide what sounds to be a definitive answer regarding another mystery: Does Taylor Swift travel in suitcases?

Yes, this is a real question people have, and, yes, it is entirely plausible. The rumor surfaced last year, and picked up steam when photos and eyewitness accounts recounted “almost a dozen” of Swift’s security guards gingerly transporting a large black suitcase into a truck. Swift’s camp reportedly denied the story and the publication that first reported it subsequently retracted it. Nevertheless, Twitter lost its mind over the possibility, asking how a nearly six-foot-tall woman could wedge herself into such a space.

Malik doesn’t offer a how, but he does say it’s true. “She was traveling around in a suitcase,” he told Vogue, saying it was her means of avoiding paparazzi. He’s a trusted source, too, with the singer having previously collaborated with the pop star on “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever.” Also, his girlfriend, Gigi Hadid, is a close friend of Swift’s.

Sure, there’s always the chance he was making a crack by mentioning the conspiracy theory, but the profile offers no such hint that he was. If anything, they convey wonder, noting that Malik’s eyes were “agog” when discussing it.

Frankly, ours are, too.