Singer Jesy Nelson will be taking a break from Little Mix because of health reasons, a spokesperson for the British girl group confirmed to Us Weekly on Tuesday, November 17.
“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.”
This news comes days after the songstress, 29, missed multiple appearances with the group earlier this month. Jesy was noticeably absent when her bandmates, Perris Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall hosted the MTV EMAs on November 8. She also skipped the finale of Little Mix’s upcoming BBC1 show The Search because she was feeling “unwell,” according to a statement released on November 7.
Prior to the announcement of Jesy’s break from the group, the former X Factor contestants released their latest album Confetti on November 6. The ladies all celebrated the record’s release on social media while Jesy, for her part, hasn’t posted on Instagram since late October.
Throughout her time in the group, Jesy has been open about suffering from anxiety.
“I’d get so anxious that people would be looking at me and talking, and I’d think they were talking about me, the fat one, saying horrible things,” she told VICE in 2019, explaining that her struggles stemmed from appearing on the X Factor in 2011. “For five years solid, I’ve had it drilled into my head that I’m fat and ugly and look deformed. You obviously start, after a while, to believe that.”
Following Little Mix‘s appearance in the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge in September, Jesy revealed she suffered a panic attack right before the group performed a stunning cover of Harry Styles‘ “Falling.” The “Wings” singer said her “nerves” got the better of her right before they were about to perform the song. Fans who watched the full Live Lounge performance noticed the other singers run over to Jesy after the group performed their latest single “Holiday.”
Jesy “had to leave the stage after breaking down in tears,” The Daily Mail reported at the time. They also noted she “began to tear up and held up her hands to show that she was visibly shaking.”
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