25 October 2023 , 07:12
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Little Mix star Leigh-Anne Pinnock has revealed the band had therapy after Jesy Nelson quit the group.
The singer admitted losing a member of the pop group was "traumatic" as they "were a family". Leigh-Anne was put together with Jesy, Perrie Edwards and Jade Thirlwall on the X Factor in 2011. They went onto have huge success with five UK number 1s, sold-out arena shows and sold millions of records.
Yet all three members of Little Mix sought therapy when Jesy decided to quit the group. Her abrupt exit came in December 2020 and sparked bitter online wars between fans and reports of infighting between the members. Leigh-Anne has admitted: “It was a complex and painful thing to come to terms with. We all felt it, that pain and sadness. The whole thing felt like a weird break-up, and I wasn’t prepared for it.“
Leigh-Anne has revealed how Jesy's exit impacted the group (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
Jesy decided to leave Little Mix in 2020 (Instagram)Speaking candidly in her autobiography Believe, she added: “I wasn’t prepared for the intensity of those emotions. The whole thing was abrupt and sad and then it was messy, which made it even more painful.” A month before her exit, Jesy sparked concern from fans after she pulled out of the live final of their BBC contest show Little Mix: The Search.
She cited mental health struggles when announcing her departure. At the time, Jesy said: “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. There comes a time in life when we need to reinvest in taking care of ourselves rather than focusing on making other people happy.”
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Reports claimed Leigh-Anne, Jade and Perrie found out about Jesy's decision through their lawyers. They were all said to have been blocked by Jesy on social media. Leigh-Anne wrote: “I’ve been to therapy during the course of my career. When we decided to pause Little Mix, I felt compelled to go back. We all did.
“In fact, it happened a little earlier than our hiatus. We were a family, the four of us were like sisters, and we had been that way since we were teenagers, so it’s not an over-exaggeration to say that losing a member was a traumatic experience. When you have felt so much love and support with another person over such a long time and then that suddenly disappears you never fully get to understand why it hurts.”
She continued: “Therapy helped me, helped all of us, process what had happened and manage the emotions that came with it. All of that messiness is now so far behind me that it’s not even worth commenting on. We have moved forwards into something even brighter and stronger.”
The band continued as a trio, but had therapy after Jesy left (Getty Images for Warner Bros)Little Mix announced they are on a hiatus in May last year. Leigh-Anne, who is forging her solo career, also spoke of her pride at what the trio managed to achieve after Jesy's exit. They had a sold-out 25 date arena tour and were the first girl group to win British Group at the 2021 Brit Awards.
Leigh-Anne confessed: “The experience pulled the three of us even closer together. We clung to each other in those last months. Jade and Perrie were the only people who really knew what it felt like, who knew what we had been through. They just got it.” Rumours were rife about infighting between the group and things came to a head in October 2021.
Jesy had just launched her solo career with the release of her single Boyz featuring Nicki Minaj. However, in the music video for the track, Jesy sparked accusations of 'black fishing' after wearing braided hair. Jesy denied the accusation and apologised for any hurt. Messages between Leigh-Anne and influencer NoHun were leaked online which appeared to show Leigh-Anne calling her former bandmate a 'horrible person'.
The message read: “Do a video about her being a black fish instead. She blocked us. Cut us off. Horrible person.” The term is used to insinuate some-one has changed their appearance to imitate features from black cultures. Nicki Minaj hit out at Leigh-Anne in an Instagram live with Jesy, who remained silent.
Nicki raged: “Take them text messages and shove it up your f***Ing ass, because when you do clown s*** I got to treat you and talk to you like you a clown. If you was in this woman’s group and you ain’t talk about this s*** for ten years and as soon as you see she got a video coming out with Nicki Minaj and Puffy (P Diddy), now you sending text messages.
“Stop trying to hurt people and kill people’s lives and careers, this is the way people feed their families. If you want a solo career, baby girl, just say that. Only jealous people do things like this.” Leigh-Anne has revealed the drama was “one of the most difficult moments in my career”.
She wrote: “I was a new mum dealing with the mental and physical aftermath of pregnancy and birth, flooded with hormones and emotion, and severely sleep deprived, and on top of all that I also had to deal with this.” Later, Jesy revealed she had not been in touch with her former bandmates. During an appearance on The Graham Norton Show amid the fallout in 2021, Jesy said: “We’re not talking any more. It is sad but honestly there is no bad blood from my side, and I still love them to pieces and genuinely wish them all the best.“
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