In 2020, Little Mix shocked everyone by announcing Jesy Nelson was no longer a member of the band.
At the time it sounded like Jesy and the girls were all in support of the decision as it was best for her mental health.
But very quickly things between them turned sour. Suddenly there were public fallouts, unfollowings and a lot of backlash. And, five years on, it seems time never helped them reconnect.
Jesy has just announced she is expecting twins with on/off boyfriend Zion Foster. And, although even one of her ex-boyfriends congratulated her, it seems the Little Mix girls are staying silent, in public at least.
So let’s have a look back at just what went down between Little Mix and Jesy.
December 2020: Jesy leaves Little Mix
Fans had noticed Jesy was appearing less with the other girls. Then her departure was announced. At the time, Jesy explained she was leaving Little Mix to focus on her mental health.
It was 10 years of my life that I was very unhappy with.
Looking back on the backlash the decision received from the public, Jesy revealed on the Reign With Josh Smith podcast in 2021 that it affected her at the beginning.
She said: “But I don’t care any more. It was 10 years of my life that I was very unhappy with. And I needed to take myself out of that and genuinely do what’s going to make me happy.”
October 2021: Boyz release, Nicki Minaj steps in and Jesy apologises
Less than a year later, Jesy was releasing her first solo single Boyz. And as soon as she did, fans were quick to accuse her of ‘blackfishing’. The claims are also what fully brought the Little Mix feud into the public eye.
A TikTok user shared alleged direct messages with Leigh-Anne Pinnock where she allegedly called Jesy a “horrible person”, along with agreeing with the ‘blackfishing’ claims. One is said to have read: “She blocked us. Cut us off. Horrible person.”
However, there was no proof that the messages were authentic.
Little Mix has never commented on the messages. But Jade admitted the band did have discussions with Jesy about blackfishing before her shock exit. She told The Telegraph“”
’’’
“”“”
’
’
’
‘’‘’
“”
“”
’“”“”
‘’
’“”“”
“’”
’
’“”
’
“”
’
“’’’’’’”