On Air Now
The Capital Late Show with Sonny Jay 10pm - 1am
Concerned Little Mix Reached Out To Jesy Nelson's Mum & Agreed She Should Leave The Band
7 October 2021, 10:10 | Updated: 7 October 2021, 12:11
Jesy Nelson has revealed her Little Mix ‘sisters’ visited her mum over concerns the band was taking its toll on her mental health.
Jesy Nelson famously quit Little Mix at the end of 2020, and the pop star – who will soon release her debut single – is speaking up about what led to her exit.
In an interview with Glamour magazine, Jesy revealed she was having constant panic attacks when the girls returned to their busy schedules after lockdown last year and was unhappy with how she looked alongside the other three.
Leigh-Anne Pinnock Celebrates 30th Birthday With Little Mix
Jesy has now recalled how concerned bandmates Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall all went to see Jesy’s mum Janice, who she’s super close to, and agreed it was time she left the band to put her mental health first.
Little Mix thank absent member Jesy Nelson during MTV EMA's win
The ‘Boyz’ singer said: “They just knew that it was time for me to take a minute to deal with what I was going through and look after myself.”
When the interviewer told her it sounds like the ultimate act of female empowerment, an emotional Jesy responded: “I don’t know what to say.”
Jesy said she would often dread video shoots over fears on how she would look, admitting: “I couldn’t sleep the night before because I’d be so anxious about what clothes I had to wear, how I would look compared to the other girls, what people were then going to say.”
The 30-year-old still isn’t in touch with her former bandmates, and hasn’t met Perrie and Leigh-Anne’s babies, but still thinks of them as her sisters.
Ella Henderson speaks about Jesy Nelson's solo music
She admitted: “I’ve sent a few texts, but that’s it. I can’t explain it, it’s like there has to be this distance.
"We were so close so you can’t do in-between, there has to be space and hopefully at some point in the future we can all come back together. I love them. They are my sisters in so many ways, but for the time being we just don’t talk.”
Jesy shocked fans around the world when she announced she was leaving the band to focus on herself, but months later she returned to the studio to kick off her solo career.
The singer is about to release her first single as a solo artist, with an album expected to follow soon after.
If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, contact The Samaritans at samaritans.org or call on 116 123.
