Jesy Nelson reveals Little Mix was ending anyway before making suicide attempt and quitting band
Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.
In December 2020, Jesy Nelson left Little Mix after nine years with the popular girl band.
At the time, fans around the world were shocked that the singer would quit the X Factor-formed group, also made up of Jade Thirlwall, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Perrie Edwards, with the narrative arguably being she had been the only one to make this decision.
And the 32-year-old musician has never spoken out herself about why she actually walked, leaving rumours and theories to spiral.
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But now, in her new Prime Video documentary, Jesy Nelson: Life After Little Mix, the singer has opened up as she reveals what went down in a hope to finally ‘put it to bed’.
According to Nelson, in a claim many didn’t expect, the girl group was already due to end anyway.
And tragically, her exit came following a suicide attempt.
Nelson, a mum of twins who have sadly been diagnosed with SMA Type 1, says in the doc that she ‘always thought’ the band would be ‘together forever’, but her time with them was underscored by her own insecurities and mental health struggles.
The star had previously made suicide attempts and battled with her weight but it seems she wanted to stay with the group, who she referred to as ‘sisters’.
“I’ve never been able to say, it was never actually my decision to leave first, I actually didn’t want any of this to happen,” Nelson says.
And she recalls being brought into a meeting that she had a bad ‘gut feeling’ about where they apparently discussed that ‘one of the girls had decided that they didn’t want to be in the band anymore’.
At this moment, Nelson felt like her ‘whole world had fell apart’ and was ‘devastated’ at the news one of her bandmates wanted out and the group would be ending.
She claims a final tour was planned and then the announcement would be made. However, lockdown prolonged everything and ‘that is when everything just got messy’.
With the tour postponed, Nelson spent lockdown with a friend and it seemed as though she was somewhat back to her old self as her family say she got her ‘happy ways back’.
But during interviews with Little Mix, she felt as though they were being fake, saying they’d be ‘together forever’, when they knew that wasn’t the case.
And when they got back to work, she was ‘dreading’ it.
Her loved ones say she was ‘broken’ and Nelson says it felt like the atmosphere in Little Mix had shifted. She began having panic attacks again and was swarmed ‘in anxiety’.
The singer claims she told her bandmates how she was feeling but got the impression ‘no one cares’.
And after a few days, Nelson’s mum, Janice, had a feeling something was wrong, repeatedly wringing her until she answered, slurring her words.
“I knew she’d done something,” she says, as an ambulance was then called for the star.
After this suicide attempt, the singer knew she ‘couldn’t do it’ anymore and Janice told her she needed ‘to stop doing what’s making you unhappy’.
So, this meant leaving Little Mix.
Nelson says a lawyer told the girls before she had chance – an opportunity she’s ‘mad was taken away from me’.
She now says she’s only spoken to her former bandmates since a call following that (during her pregnancy) and has struggled with the narrative since.
“I just really f**king hate that there was nine and a bit beautiful years with the girls and I actually really, really didn’t want for us to be known for that sh**ty part,” she adds. “We had such beautiful times and we really genuinely were sisters and I think that’s what’s so sad about this whole thing.”
After their tour in 2022, Little Mix went on hiatus with Edwards, Pinnock and Thirlwall exploring solo projects.
The LADbible Group has contacted representatives for Little Mix and its members for comment.
Jesy Nelson: Life After Little Mix is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123 or contact Harmless by visiting their website https://harmless.org.uk.
Topics: Little Mix, Mental Health, Celebrity News, Music, Celebrity
Jess Battison