Little Mix’s Jesy Nelson Recalls Second Suicide Attempt Before Leaving Band

Jesy Nelson has shared that she tried to take her own life for a second time shortly before parting ways with Little Mix.

The Bad Thing singer parted ways with her Little Mix bandmates in 2019 after eight years in the group, and while everyone involved initially maintained that her departure was an amicable one, this appeared not to be further from the truth as time went on.

In her new documentary Jesy Nelson: Life After Little Mix, the former X Factor winner claimed that she tried to confide in her bandmates about how she was feeling shortly before her suicide attempt, which was days before she left the group.

“I sat everyone down to explain how I was feeling and I remember one of [their] responses being, ‘Are you done now? Is that it?’,” Jesy recalled.

“She was like, ‘Can I go now?’”

As reported by The Sun, Jesy added that in the moment, she felt “really alone”, “like there was no point” and that “no one cared” about her.

While recovering in hospital, she and her mum made the decision that she should quit Little Mix, and after seeking legal advice about her situation, she said she was shocked when her lawyer told her bandmates about her quitting before she had the chance.

“I think they felt really hurt about that and it should never have played out like that,” Jesy said. “I didn’t get my opportunity to explain why I couldn’t do this any more. I feel mad that that was taken away from me.”

Jesy continued: “I got myself up mentally and was like, ’right, I want to have a chat with the girls now, I wanna chat to them and tell them why I did what I did [and] how I’ve been feeling. [I wanted to] really explain to them [and] try to make them understand how I was feeling.”

However, she claimed that she then received a call from her manager who told her the remaining three members of the band didn’t “feel comfortable being in a room with you unless there is a therapist there”.

“I just remember being like, ‘what? I’ve just come out of hospital, like this is the time I need you the most!’,” Jesy recalled. “I don’t know, I just didn’t feel like they were my sisters.’

“Eventually there was a phone call. It was really awkward and so weird. It was like talking to strangers. It was the most uncomfortable phone call of my life. No one knew what to say. And that’s the last time I ever spoke to them as a group.

“It’s been five years now and every time I think about it, I think, ‘was it them or was it the management?’ I’ll never know.”

HuffPost UK has contacted representatives for Leigh-Anne, Jade and Perrie for comment.

Jesy also claimed that, before her own departure, another member of the band had made it clear she wanted to leave first, at the beginning of 2020.

Ultimately, Covid meant the decision to end the band was pushed back, which Jesy noted is “when everything got messy”.

“I knew the band was coming to an end because one of the girls had made the decision to leave and I felt like I was being fake,” she claimed. “I got this very quick realisation that I wasn’t happy.”

Jesy previously opened up about a previous suicide attempt while she was still part of the band in a BBC documentary she made about online bullying and body image.

Last year, Jesy welcomed twin girls Ocean Jade and Story Monroe with her ex-partner Zion Foster.

More recently, she disclosed that her daughters had been diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), and has since been campaigning to raise awareness of the condition.

Jesy Nelson: Life After Little Mix is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

• Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
• Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI – this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
• CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
• The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
• Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0808 801 0525 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.