Jesy Nelson To Leave Little Mix Citing ‘Mental Health’ Issues

Singer Jesy Nelson has announced that she will be leaving Little Mix. She has been a member of the girl group since they were formed on the British singing completion, The X Factor, in 2011. Little Mix was the first group to win the competition.

The Little Mix Twitter account shared a message of the news from members, Perrie Edwards, Jade Thirwall and Leigh-Anne Pinnock, with a statement writing, “After an amazing 9 years together Jesy has made the decision to leave Little Mix. This is an incredible sad time for all of us but we are fully supportive of Jesy. We love her so much and agree that it is so important that she does what is right for her mental health and well-being.”

The group reassured fans that despite Nelson leaving, it was not the end of the group. “We are still very much enjoying our Little Mix journey and the 3 of us are not ready for it to be over… We’re looking forward to seeing so many of you on tour.”

“The past nine years in Little Mix has been the most incredible time of my life,” wrote Nelson in a separate Instagram post. “We have achieved things I never thought possible. From winning our first Brit Award to our sold our shows at the O2. Making friends and fans all over the world I can’t thank you all enough from the bottom of my heart for making me feel like the luckiest girl in the world. You have always been there to support and encourage me and I will never forget it.”

“The truth is recently being in a band has really taken a toll on my mental health. I find the constant pressure of being in a girl group and living up the expectations very hard,” she confessed. “There comes a time in life when we need to reinvest in taking care of ourselves rather than focussing on making other people happy, and I feel like now is the time to begin that process. So after much consideration and with a heavy heart, I’m annoying I’m leaving Little Mix.”

She then went on to thank all the fans for their continuous support over the years. She concluded with thanking her band members “for creating some of the most amazing memories I’ll never forget.”