Little Mix's gruelling days before Jesy Nelson quit - 6am therapy and relentless trolling
Little Mix will continue as a trio with Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall following Jesy Nelson's announcement that she's quit the band
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Little Mix fans have been left heartbroken by the exit of Jesy Nelson from the band.
The singer, 29, announced on Monday that she would be departing the band permanently after previously taking an "extended break" for "private medical reasons".
Now the remaining girls - Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, and Jade Thirlwall - will continue as a trio as the band looks to a future without their fourth original member.
The band first formed on the 2011 series of ITV singing competition The X Factor, which they went on to win.
Following this the band have worked more or less non-stop as they recorded six hit studio albums and toured and promoted their brand and music around the world.
With this huge exposure and international attention, Jesy also faced mental health issues as a result of online bullying and endless commentary about her.
Speaking as a band to the Mail On Sundays' You Magazine, Jesy shed light on her feelings when Leigh-Anne spoke about her concerns about having children in future.
Jesy noted: "It makes me not want to have a kid.
"Those insecurities that we all have now because of social media, imagine having that embedded in you as a child."
She continued: "Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to sit here and say we've got a terrible life, because we haven't, but I do think our innocence was taken from us."
In her award-winning documentary Jesy Nelson: Odd One Out, the singer addressed her mental health struggles as a result of bullying.
"I was always known as the ugly one," noted Jesy.
Speaking to The Guardian in 2019, Jesy admitted of having done The X Factor: "I don’t think anything is worth your happiness, and it was a lot of my life that I won’t get back."
She also spoke about their intense work schedule ever since winning the show.
"Our schedule was so gruelling," she explained. "I was going to see a therapist at six o’clock in the morning, crying, and then going to a photoshoot."
More recently the girls faced work on their BBC singing competition Little Mix: The Search, shooting music videos, live performances, and promoting their new album.
Clearly the pressures of being in the band and the endless scrutiny with it proved to be too much for Jesy' mental health, but her decision to leave the band has been supported by the other Little Mix girls and their endlessly supportive fanbase.
Jesy penned on Monday: "To all my Mixers,
"The past nine years in Little Mix has been the most incredible time of my life.
"We have achieved things I never thought possible. From winning our first Brit Award to our sold out shows at the O2."
The star added: "Making friends and fans all over the world I cant thank you all enough form 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 every forget it.
"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."
She continued: "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 the process.
"I need to spend some time with the people I love, doing thing that make me happy. 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."
Jesy signed off by thanking her fans and her former bandmates for all their support.
MirrorCeleb