Main Pop Girl

Formerly one fourth of the most successful girl group of the 2010s, Jesy Nelson made waves last year when she announced her official departure from Little Mix due to mental health reasons. Now, she's opening up about her reasoning behind leaving the group in her first big push as a solo artist with The Guardian - and it sounds like the decision wasn't entirely hers. Speaking about whether her mental health issues made it tough for the other girls over the years, Nelson said, "Of course. Course. We’ve all had our own problems. But it’s never nice to be around someone who’s down and doesn’t want to be there. As much as I needed to come out of it for myself, I didn’t want to keep putting three other people through that as well." And when asked specifically about the lead-up to her ultimate departure, Nelson went into even more detail: But although times may have been difficult between her and the other three girls, Nelson is confident that the group will have continued success without her. “I reckon they’ll look after their babies, go off and do their own things for a while, then make a comeback together. I think they’re just as sick as a three. They’re still doing it for girl power. I still love them to pieces. They were like my sisters.” Long-lost sisters, perhaps. When asked if she still keeps in touch with the girls still performing as Little Mix, Nelson responded in the negative. “No, not as much. Not now. I think we all need time. It’s a big thing that’s happened. What I’ve said about a million times is that I never said I’m coming out of the band to never be in the public eye again. I said I’m coming out of Little Mix because I could not deal with the pressure of being in a girl band, not that I can’t deal with the pressures of being in the spotlight or being famous.” Time will tell how her solo career turns out.