Jesy Nelson leaves Little Mix to focus on mental health
Jesy Nelson has quit Little Mix, the UK pop quartet who have topped the British singles chart four times since forming on The X Factor in 2011.
Announcing the decision on Instagram, Nelson thanked her bandmates and their fans, and described her time with the group as “the most incredible time of my life”. She added:
She said she needed to “spend some time with the people I love, doing things that make me happy. I’m ready to embark on a new chapter in my life – I’m not sure what it’s going to look like right now, but I hope you’ll still be there to support me”.
A statement on the group’s Twitter page, signed by the remaining three members Jade Thirlwall, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Perrie Edwards, reads:
Nelson’s decision comes a month after she took time off from the group, citing “private medical reasons”.
The singer has spoken frankly about her mental health difficulties in the past, including in the BBC documentary Odd One Out. She has suffered from depression and disordered eating, and has been frequently targeted in online abuse.
Speaking to the Guardian in September 2019, she said: “I had a routine of waking up, going on Twitter, searching for the worst things I could about myself. I’d type in the search bar: ‘Jesy fat’, or ‘Jesy ugly’, and see what would come up. Sometimes I didn’t even need to do that, I’d just write ‘Jesy’ and then I’d see all the horrible things. Everyone told me to ignore it – but it was like an addiction.” Eventually, she said, “I felt that I physically couldn’t tolerate the pain any more,” and subsequently attempted suicide. She has credited support from family and friends, as well as therapy, as having helped her since.
Little Mix, briefly named Rhythmix when they were assembled in the early stages of The X Factor, are one of the most successful graduates of the reality TV show. Their first two singles Cannonball and Wings both topped the charts in 2011, with debut album DNA reaching No 3. They returned to the top of the charts in 2015 with Black Magic, and went on to collaborate with stars including Nicki Minaj and Jason Derulo. They have been nominated for nine Brit awards, winning two.
Their most recent album, Confetti, released in November, became their sixth top 5 LP in a row. The group also recently presented their own reality show, Little Mix: The Search, though Nelson did not appear in the final episode, nor the group’s recent appearances on Children in Need and the MTV Europe Music awards.
• In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.