Jade Thirlwall from Little Mix has opened up for the first time on the ‘grief’ she experienced after Jesy Nelson left the band back in 2020.
Jesy abruptly left the band in December 2020, weeks after the release of their album Confetti. And it seems Jade is still trying to find a way through the feelings.
At the time, Jesy, who recently revealed she is pregnant with twins, cited her mental health as being the reason for the step down. Then, a few months later, she embarked on her own solo career.
Jade Thirlwall’s Little Mix ‘trauma’
Things turned tense between Jesy and the Little Mix girls, and the on-going feud saw the singer lose contact with the others.
Until now, Jade has been the only member to not fully speak about how Jesy’s departure affected her. But it seems it affected her pretty badly – and continues to do so five years later.
Speaking on The Louis Theroux Podcast today (January 21) while promoting her new single IT Girl, Jade explained it was her boyfriend, Jordan Stephens, who helped her get through it.
So much of it was brushed under the rug and then it just exploded.
She said: “I was being really short with him. I was very snappy because I was frustrated. And he kept probing. Honestly, out of nowhere, I literally bellowed like a [bleep]ing whale.”
Jade said she thinks the reason she broke down was because she had “so much grief” and felt like she “had been winded”.
The Little Mix star admitted: “I have never cried like that since my grandad died when I was 13. I think it was all of the years of love. And everything we had been through together. So much of it was brushed under the rug and then it just [bleep]ing exploded.”
Jordan gave her space, which made her know “he was a keeper”. But she explained he was afraid to actually leave her on her own because she was “screaming”.
Jade confirms her and Jesy’s relationship now
As for her relationship with Jesy, Jade confirmed they don’t speak any more, but that she doesn’t begrudge her former friend for wanting to leave.
The 32-year-old singer said: “No matter what happened behind the scenes or anything that unfolded, I will never discredit or invalidate the struggles she had in the group, particularly in the beginning.”
She explained: “I feel like I can’t and I don’t want to talk about it in depth because it isn’t just my story to tell. I’d be speaking for people and I don’t think that’s right. But for myself, I will say that I’m still getting over it now, quite truthfully.
“We were literally promoting a single and an album at the same time. Everyone was asking what was going on. We didn’t necessarily know exactly what was going on. We found out very abruptly that it was happening.”
This caused confusion for the entire group. And the sudden no contact with someone who was such a huge part of their lives led the girls to have group therapy.
The Louis Theroux Podcast is available on Spotify now.
Read more: Jesy Nelson on ‘toll’ being in Little Mix took on her mental health
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