It’s official, Jesy Nelson said goodbye to Little Mix.
“After an amazing 9 years together Jesy has made the decision to leave Little Mix. This is an incredibly sad time for all of us but we are fully supportive of Jesy,” the group wrote in a social media statement on December 14. “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. We are still very much enjoying our Little Mix journey and the 3 of us are not ready for it to be over.”
The girls continued, “We know that Jesy leaving the group is going to be really upsetting news for our fans. We love you guys so much and are so grateful for your loyalty and continued support of all of us.”
Fans were first convinced that the songstress secretly left the girl group after she was missing from a few major appearances. Rumors started swirling that the 29-year-old singer exited Little Mix permanently after members Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall took the stage without her on December 13 and performed at the results show of BCC One’s Strictly Come Dancing competition series.
As fans know, this wasn’t the first live performance that the girls did as a trio. In November 2020, Jesy was missing during the finale of the girls’ upcoming show The Search and was noticeably absent when her bandmates hosted the 2020 MTV EMAs. After fans started to question why she didn’t appear on stage with the rest of the group, a spokesperson for the British band confirmed to Us Weekly on November 17 that she was taking a break due to health reasons.
“Jesy is having extended time off from Little Mix for private medical reasons,” the statement read. “We will not be issuing any further comment currently and ask media to please respect her privacy at this time.”
After news of her official exit broke, Jesy took to her own Instagram account and released a statement.
“The truth is, recently, being in the band has really taken a toll on my mental health. I find the constant pressure of being in a girl group and living up to expectations very hard,” the singer wrote. “There comes a time in life when we need to reinvest in taking care of ourselves rather than focusing on making other people happy, and I feel like now is the time to begin that process.”
She continued, “I’m ready to embark on a new chapter in my life — I’m not sure what it’s going to look like right now, but I hope you’ll still be there to support me.”
What does her departure mean for Little Mix’s future as a group? Scroll through our gallery for all the details on Jesy’s exit from the group.
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