Like you, Jesy Nelson has heard all the rumors, innuendo, whispers and flat-out lies about why she left the British girl group Little Mix in 2020. But now the “Boyz” singer says it’s her turn to tell the real story in the upcoming six-part Prime Video documentary, Jesy Nelson: Life After Little Mix.
Ahead of the drop of all six episodes on Feb. 13, Prime Video hosted a screening at the Cinema at Selfridges in London on Thursday (Feb. 5) where Nelson sat down for a Q&A in which she talked about telling her story behind the split and discussed the health challenges faced by her nine-month-old twin daughters, Ocean Jade and Story Monroe.
“I go into the reason why I left Little Mix, which I’ve never, ever spoken about, and that was really tough, because, like I said, there’s been a constant narrative that’s been written about me – I believe it gave a false narrative of why I left,” Nelson said about why she parted ways with the group that was formed on the British X Factor in 2011; at the time, Nelson said her leave-taking was due to mental health struggles.
“This was my turn to say this is my truth, and this is why I left,” Nelson said. “But I also just really hope that it gets put to bed after this, because I feel like I’ve been carrying that weight for a really long time.”
The singer said now was also the right time to open up because she wanted to preserve “all these memories” she has for the girls for when they get older, noting that within two days of beginning filming she was rushed to the hospital for an emergency operation. “You just couldn’t write it,” she said of the dramatic timing.
According to a description of the series, it captures Nelson as she’s expecting the twins, chronicling the “joy, vulnerability and fear that comes with carrying two little lives – especially when faced with the reality of a high-risk pregnancy.”
Last month, Nelson posted a video on her socials revealing that the twins had been diagnosed with the rare genetic condition Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Type 1. “We were told that they’re probably never going to be able to walk,” Nelson said in the clip, breaking down in tears. “They probably will never regain their neck strength, so they will be disabled. And so the best thing we can do right now is to get them treatment, and then just hope for the best.”
According to the Cleveland Clinic, SMA is an inherited neuromuscular disorder that causes certain muscles to weaken and waste away. Type 1 accounts for around 60% of cases, with symptoms typically appearing in the first six months. While there is no cure, there are a handful of therapies and medications that can help manage symptoms.
The series follows Nelson on weekly hospital visits as she deals with the “emotional roller coaster of pregnancy complications,” which included Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome, a rare and potentially life-threatening condition.
“We’re doing good. It’s been tough, I’m not going to bulls–t – it is really tough,” Nelson, 34, said at the Q&A about challenges she and fiancé Zion Foster have faced through since welcoming the girls on May 15 of last year; the twins were born prematurely at 31 weeks after Nelson experienced complications from carrying monochorionic/diamniotic twins, who share a placenta but have separate amniotic sacs.
“And I think that’s understandable with everything that we’ve gone through,” she said. “But we’re getting on with it, and our girls are our focus. They’re happy, and they’re doing really well, and that’s what we can ask for as their parents.”
And while Nelson said a lot of people would have chosen to keep this kind of struggle private, for her it was important to share it because, “it puts everything into perspective. The s–t I used to care about and worry about just seems so insignificant to me now. It’s so important to me for everyone to see this.”
