Jesy Nelson doesn’t want to stay pals with Little Mix and won’t work with them again
THEY have been the biggest girl band for a generation, shifting more than 60million records in a decade at the very top.
But last year saw the first major bump in the road for Little Mix — as Jesy Nelson announced she was stepping away to take time out from the gruelling schedule and limelight.
Now, less than six months on, what seemed like an amicable split between pals at first has taken a very different turn.
There have been thinly veiled jibes in interviews — then Jesy’s surprise decision to launch a solo career so quickly after wanting a break.
Now, sources say the girls only communicate via third parties.
A source close to Jesy confirmed she has put a block on all direct personal contact with the band, and has not spoken to her former pals for several months.
The insider said: “The plan was always to stay in touch but that just hasn’t happened because Jesy didn’t want it.
“She wants to sever ties and start again — that seems to be both professionally and personally.”
In a bombshell interview published yesterday, Jesy, 29, described her time in the group as a source of great unhappiness.
While she did not want to comment on her current relationship with her ex-bandmates, she did open up on what it was really like to be compared to them for ten years.
In her most damning remarks to date, she said: “I can’t believe how miserable I was.”
The situation came to a head on the set of their Sweet Melody music video last year, where she says she hid in a dressing room after becoming upset by her body image and the jealousy of the other girls.
She added: “We’d been in lockdown, and it was the first time I could have a break and be at home around people that I love.
“It was the happiest I’d ever felt, and I didn’t realise that until I went back to work. I immediately became a different person. I had anxiety.”
On the day of the shoot, she suffered a panic attack and “broke down” on set “because I didn’t look how I wanted to look and I found it so hard to just be happy and enjoy myself”.
She explains: “I looked at the other three and they were having the time of their life. I get so jealous, because I want to feel like that and enjoy it, because music is my passion.
“To have this dream and not be enjoying it because of what I look like, I knew wasn’t normal.”
In December, when Jesy first announced an “extended” break due to “private medical reasons”, it came as a bombshell to fans.
She later clarified: “I find the constant pressure of being in a girl group and living up to expectations very hard.”
The remaining three members — Jade Thirlwall, 28, Perrie Edwards, 27, and Leigh-Anne Pinnock, 29 — vowed to carry on as a trio.
And they gushed about their pal: “We love her very much and agree that it is so important that she does what is right for her mental health and well-being.”
But this week, Jesy was notably absent from a string of celebrity congratulations for Leigh-Anne when she announced she was pregnant.
Fans were quick to speculate on Leigh-Anne’s timing, which coincided with Jesy’s debut interview as she launches her first solo effort.
Industry insiders say the baby has been an open secret within the music business for “ages”.
But Leigh-Anne chose the same day to make her announcement and take part in a striking photoshoot, draped in green silk and showing off her bump.
Perhaps most tellingly, though, the band appeared dismissive of Jesy’s upcoming record when promoting their own new single, Confetti, in a recent radio interview.
When asked if they had heard the track, Perrie simply replied: “We haven’t.”
As one source put it: “This hasn’t quite gone to plan. The truth is, the girls really thought Jesy would take a break for a while rather than come back as a solo artist immediately.
“That feels like a bit of a dig, and some of the things she has said took the girls by surprise.”
But another added: “Jesy has always been incredibly ambitious. In many ways she was a bit of a leader in the band during most of their time together.
“Nobody should be that surprised she’s interested in a solo career — and she feels ready now that the situation is different.
“But the fact is, communication between them has basically broken down now. There are formalities at times via third parties, but they’re not meeting up for cosy drinks.
“Things have changed a lot and there’s a clear divide now.”
What is totally clear is that the language, and actions, of the girls are being carefully and cautiously choreographed in public.
The trio’s responses have been gently nuanced whenever they have been quizzed about their former bandmate’s plans.
Jesy had stayed largely silent until this week. Equally striking is the band’s decision to shed their former image while reinventing themselves as a threesome.
Gone are the at-times provocative ensembles which became their trademark look. In their place are quirky concepts and more demure looks.
Images of the girls head to toe in bold-coloured all-in-one catsuits to promote their latest outing came alongside a music video in which they dressed up as men in a marked change of direction.
Meanwhile, Jesy continues to post daring snaps in her more familiar crop tops and harem pants on Instagram on an almost daily basis.
Alongside them are regular snaps out with pals, who she regularly labels her “favourite people” in the captions.
Tellingly, none of her former bandmates appear. She is also unlikely to join them at next week’s Brit Awards, where Little Mix are nominated in the Best British Group category.
Despite her having been a member of the band during the period for which they are nomin-ated, insiders say she has no plans to team up with them on the night.
Already the group are planning how to restructure their stage performances to cover their absent pal.
But sources add that there was plenty of scope for Jesy to pursue solo projects alongside Little Mix while still remaining a member of the band — a model the other members are intending to adopt.
The Sun revealed last year how each of the girls had taken on personal agents and representation to explore a host of solo activities.
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These include fashion ranges, solo music and TV work, which the trio have already been enjoying with considerable success.
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As one pal explained: “They’ve seen what Take That have been able to do, with the ability to move in and out of the group while balancing solo careers too.
“The feeling is, it can be done, but it’s obvious Jesy didn’t want that. That seems to tell the story.”
Babies on tour
AS the first of Little Mix to start a family, Leigh-Anne Pinnock sparked hysteria among fans when she unveiled her pregnancy this week.
The singer and her fiancé Andre Gray shared the news in a touching joint photoshoot, which saw the Watford ace cradling her growing bump.
But in a congratulatory message, bandmate Perrie Edwards’ mum hinted that she may not be the only band member to welcome a child in the near future.
Perrie’s mum Deborah suggested there could be several babies behind the scenes when the band hit the road.
She wrote on social media: “Massive congratulations to Leigh-Anne and Andre. Babies on tour – can’t wait xxx.”
Perrie is currently in a long-term relationship with England footballer Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, while Jade is loved-up with Rizzle Kicks’ Jordan Stephens.
The girl band had to postpone their Confetti tour until 2022, due to the pandemic. It will be their first as a trio, following Jesy’s departure last year.