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As the group behind hits such as Black Magic, Shout Out To My Ex and Wings began to unravel, Jesy Nelson was the first to depart in December 2020, leaving her bandmates Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall and Perrie Edwards to continue without her until 2022.
Since leaving the group, Nelson has spoken openly about her struggles with mental health during her time in the group, and went on to release two songs as a solo artist: Boyz, which featured US rapper Nicki Minaj, in 2021 and Bad Thing in 2023.
On February 13, her documentary series Jesy Nelson: Life After Little Mix will launch on Prime Video, a series Nelson had hoped would document her happiness at becoming a mother.
But after she was diagnosed with twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), and her twins were found to have SMA1 (spinal muscular atrophy), a condition which causes muscle weakness, movement problems, problems with breathing and swallowing, muscle tremors, and bone and joint problems, the story changed.
“I’m a huge fan of reality TV and docuseries, I’ve always loved them, because I just think they’re beautiful memories to have… to show your family when you’re older and your children,” she explains.
“And so when I got pregnant, I was like, ‘oh my gosh, now would be amazing to document this journey’, because now I can watch this back with my girls.
“And then, literally, when I tell you, within two days of filming, I found out that I had TTTS, and I had to go in for operation, I was like, ‘this is wild, of course this would happen to me two days within filming’.
“No one could have ever prepared me for what was then about to play out and now my reasons are completely different, because I’m just so grateful, even though it was horrific and it’s still ongoing, the stuff that I’ve been through, but I’m so grateful that the cameras were there to film it…
“My reasons now for making this series are (now) so completely different, because I just want to raise as much awareness now as possible with all the stuff that I have been through, especially now with the girls’ diagnosis.
“I just really want to shed light on what it’s actually like to go through all of this stuff.”
Having seen her daughter previously struggle in the media spotlight, Nelson’s mother is shown to be concerned about her decision to make the documentary in its first episode.
“She was terrified, because she was like, ‘you’re now going to allow people to have an opinion on you again, and you’re so happy, and like why you want that for yourself now?'” Nelson explains with an air of confidence.
“But now she feels completely different because she feels the same as me, she’s so incredibly proud of her granddaughters and me, and for the awareness that we’re now going to raise, and we’ve all got a completely different outlook on it now, but I’m just super grateful.
“I just think it’s wild how the universe works, that the one time I decided to let cameras into my life, all this stuff played out.”
Detailing her twins’ condition on Instagram, Nelson has shown a vulnerable side, becoming emotional in her videos, but now she sounds like a woman on a mission to raise as much awareness of SMA1 as possible, and is even willing to put her music career on hold.
Asked about what her plans are for her solo career, Nelson says: “I’m completely honest, like, I can’t really see right now, anything other than my girls and their diagnosis, and see that I have to take each day as it comes with their diagnosis, and that is so full-on right now.
“Like, being their mom and they’re going through so much, so if I’m being clear, my headspace is just my girls and my priority right now, and I don’t know, who knows what the future holds, but my sole focus right now is them.”
She explains that her daughters are doing “so well” and explains they have had their infusion which is “the biggest thing for them to really get better”.
Nelson explains: “There isn’t a cure for SMA, so them having this infusion is essentially what’s going to determine how their future is going to look in terms of what they can actually do.
“So now it’s just like, with SMA it’s a day-to-day process, you can’t really look to the future to be honest, because you’ll just drive yourself mad, but they have constant physio.
“They’re always at Great Ormond Street, because when they have their infusion, they have to be very closely monitored, because there’s so many things that can happen when they have the infusion.
“So it’s a lot, and bless them, they’re so tiny, and they’re going through so much, but my god, I’ve never met stronger girls in my life.”
The documentary also shows Nelson, who has not been shy to speak about the negative side of being in Little Mix, look back fondly on their rise to fame, and calls her time in the group “some of the best times of my life”.
“Don’t get me wrong, like I had sh**** times, but that’s one thing I love about the documentary, it really delves into Little Mix, and the time that I had there, and good times, and it’s just lovely.
“Because even since I’ve been out of Little Mix, I don’t know how long it’s been now, but there’s so many things that I’d forgotten about, and when I watched it all back, it’s brought all them feelings back for me, and it was just lovely.”
Despite the girl group being broken up for four years now, they are still as popular as ever, and one of the most in-demand reunions, and while Nelson will not be drawn on relations with her former bandmates, she is not surprised the fans’ love is still as strong as ever.
She explains: “Our fan base in Little Mix was so incredible, I don’t have a word for them, but they were just the most incredible fan base, and they were the biggest part of our success, essentially, they also made Little Mix who they were.
“I’m still, to this day, so grateful because I’ve obviously got new fans now, but I’ve still got a lot of Little Mix fans, and without them, I wouldn’t be where I am now.”
One of the group’s most famous fans is singer and former I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! contestant Tulisa Contostavlos, who was their mentor on The X Factor, and narrates part of the documentary.
Nelson describes her as “just the most beautiful human” and praised her for having always been “so supportive”.
She says: “She’s very real, she’s so authentic, and she’s so real, and I love that about her, and that’s why I’ve always kept in contact with her, because I love real, genuine people, and that’s who Tulisa is, and she just really cares.”
Jesy Nelson: Life After Little Mix will launch on Prime Video on February 13.
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