‘We all need time’: Jesy Nelson opens up about relationship with Little Mix

Jesy Nelson admitted she hasn’t spoken to her former Little Mix co-members after leaving the group last December 2020, saying that they “all need time” but she still “loves them to pieces.” 

In an interview with The Guardian published Saturday, August 21, the 30-year-old singer opened up about her reason for leaving the group, her relationship with her former bandmates, and her solo career. 

‘They were like my sisters’

Jesy revealed that “Sweet Melody,” her last music video with the group, was the breaking point. “After the video, I just got back in a really dark place and ended up back in hospital. That was when my mum said, ‘No more.” 

“I had already decided. Then the girls [Little Mix members] spoke to mum and said, ‘We think Jesy should come out of this now. She has to look after herself,” she added. 

Jesy said Jade, Perrie, and Leigh-Anne agreed with her decision to leave Little Mix. “I know there are people who think I’ve let the other girls down, and that I’m so selfish but I do think there comes a time in life when you do have to be selfish and look after yourself, and it was really affecting me mentally.” 

The singer added that while the other members have helped her through tough times in her career, she didn’t want to constantly affect them with her unhappiness. 

“It’s never nice to be someone who’s down and doesn’t want to be there. As much as I needed to come out of it for myself, I didn’t want to keep putting other people through that as well,” she said.

As to whether she kept in contact with the three, Jesy said, “No, not as much. Not now. I think we all need time. It’s a big thing that’s happened.” 

But she said that she’s still happy and proud of all their achievements. “I reckon they’ll look after their babies, go off and do their own things for a while, then make a comeback together. I think they’re just sick as a three. They’re still doing it for girl power. I still love them to pieces. They were like my sisters.”

Career as a solo artist

“It was never about my singing or my dancing. It was always about how I looked.” Jesy said that even when she was just starting in The X Factor and the group was just formed, she’d been trolled on social media for her physical appearance. 

Aside from hate comments, Jesy said she was also constantly compared to the other three Little Mix members. “I would be very shocked to hear of any band where everyone felt equal. I don’t think that’s possible, because you’re always going to get compared; who they think looks better, who they think sings better. There’s always going to be one person that people think is weaker.”  

“I got so insecure about the way I looked. There were times I didn’t want anyone to look at me. I felt everybody hated me. I didn’t know what I was doing wrong, and it consumed me,” she added. 

When Jesy announced in December that she was leaving the band after nine years, she explained that being part of it had “really taken a toll on [her] mental health” and that she found the “constant pressure of being in a girl group and living to expectations very hard.” 

Jesy she’s been able to express herself better as a solo artist. “In a group, you never really get to show off who you are because you get allocated a part. So now I’m doing this, I get to sing how I want.” 

“I loved what we did in Little Mix, but it wasn’t necessarily music I would listen to myself. The music I love is old school R&B and hip hop. That’s what I grew up with and what I always wanted to make, so now I am making it, it feels amazing,” she added. 

Jesy also said that when she left Little Mix, she didn’t say that she’d stop making music. “What I’ve said about a million times is that I never said I’m coming out of the band to never be in the public eye again. I said I’m coming out of Little Mix because I could not deal with the pressure of being in a girl band, not that I can’t deal with the pressures of being in the spotlight or being famous.” 

While she hasn’t made an official announcement yet about the details of her solo album, Jesy said that she’s ready to make a mark as a solo artist. 

“I feel you only get one shot to make your impact as a solo artist, so I’m going all guns blazing. I don’t want people to be, ‘Oh, that’s nice,’ or ‘I expected her to do that.’ I want people to be, ‘Fuck my life, she’s here!’” – Rappler.com