Jesy Nelson has revealed she tried to take her own life just days before she quit Little Mix, as she laid bare the mystery behind her departure from the band.
In her new docuseries, Jesy Nelson: Life After Little Mix, which released February 13 on Prime Video, Jesy, 34, bravely discussed her mental health troubles.
Overcome with emotion, Jesy recalled feeling ‘really alone’ after she claimed her bandmates Perrie Edwards, Jade Thirlwall and Leigh-Anne Pinnock ignored her cry for help in the lead up to her overdose.
Jesy left the group in 2020.
It was the second time Jesy had tried to commit suicide following an overdose in 2013, which she discussed in her BBC documentary Jesy Nelson: Odd One Out.
Jesy explained: ‘I was so sad. I was so down. I knew after coming out of hospital that I mentally couldn’t do it [be in the band] any more.
Jesy Nelson, 34, has revealed she tried to take her own life just days before she quit Little Mix, as she laid bare the mystery behind her departure from the band
Jesy recalled feeling ‘really alone’ after she claimed Perrie Edwards, Jade Thirlwall and Leigh-Anne Pinnock ignored her cry for help in the lead up to her overdose (seen in 2019)
Speaking about the painful breakdown of Little Mix days before she tried to take her own life, Jesy said: ‘I sat everyone down to explain how I was feeling and I remember one of the responses being, “Are you done now? Is that it?”
‘She [one of the girls] was like, “Can I go now?” That made me feel really alone. I felt like there was no point. That no one cared.’
It was Jesy’s mother Janice who raised the alarm after Jesy fell unconscious while on the phone to her.
Janice explained: ‘For a few days before, she had just been really down and not talking much. She wanted to be on her own quite a lot.
‘I got a gut feeling that something wasn’t right. I kept ringing and ringing, but there was no answer. She eventually answered the phone and the way she talking was really slurry.
‘I heard the phone drop and didn’t hear anything else – I knew she’d done something.’
Speaking about the breakdown of Little Mix’s friendship, Janice said the band ‘wasn’t there’ for Jesy.
She said: ‘I can see why they [the other Little Mix members] did get angry at times.’
It was Jesy’s mother Janice who raised the alarm after Jesy fell unconscious while on the phone to her following her overdose saying ‘I got a gut feeling that something wasn’t right’
Jesy explained: ‘I was so sad. I was so down. I knew after coming out of hospital that I mentally couldn’t do it [be in the band] any more’
Jesy left the group in 2020 due to feeling ‘trapped and miserable’ for much of her time in Little Mix (pictured in 2011)
Speaking about the breakdown of Little Mix days before she tried to take her own life, Jesy said: ‘I sat everyone down to explain how I was feeling and they said, “Are you done now? Is that it?”‘
She continued: ‘It’s hard to work with someone who is always down when you are always happy.
‘But I personally believe that at Jesy’s lowest of low times, the girls were not really there for her and I think that’s why she’s so sad now.’
After Jesy’s second suicide attempt, Janice said: ‘I kept cuddling her and said, “Right, that’s it now. No more. You’ve got to stop doing what makes you unhappy”.’
It was at that moment in hospital recovery, Jesy made the decision to quit.
At the time of Jesy’s overdose, she was meant to appear in the final of Little Mix’s BBC talent show The Search.
Host Chris Ramsey told fans at the time that Jesy had fallen ill as he explained her sudden absence from the show.
After seeking legal advice, Jesy said her lawyers delivered the news to her bandmates.
Jesy said: ‘I think they felt really hurt about that and it should never have played out like that. I didn’t get my opportunity to explain why I couldn’t do this anymore. I feel mad that that was taken away from me.’
She continued: ‘I got myself up mentally and was like, right, I want to have a chat with the girls now, I wanna chat to them and tell them why, I did what I did, like how I’ve been feeling. Just really explain to them, try to make them understand how I was feeling.
‘And then my manager called, and she was like, “so I’ve spoke to the girls and they are happy to chat to you, but they don’t feel comfortable being in a room with you unless there is a therapist there”.
Jesy Nelson: Life After Little Mix is available on Prime Video on February 13
‘I just remember being like, “what? I’ve just come out of hospital, like this is the time I need you the most”.
‘I don’t know, I just didn’t feel like they were my sisters.’
Jesy explained: ‘Eventually there was a phone call. It was really awkward and so weird. It was like talking to strangers. It was the most uncomfortable phone call of my life. No one knew what to say.
‘And that’s the last time I ever spoke to them as a group. It’s been five years now and every time I think about it, I think, was it them or was it the management? I’ll never know.’
Later on in the docuseries, Jesy was asked if she ever sees herself reuniting with the band.
She replied: ‘I really don’t know. I see both sides. I see why they would be sad and hurt.’
Jesy continued: ‘They reached out to me when I was pregnant, it was lovely because I never thought that would happen.
‘It made me really emotional. We’re grown women now, we’ve got kids, and I just think there are so many more important things in life. It’s just one of those things that need to be put to bed now.’
Daily Mail has contacted Little Mix’s Perrie, Leigh-Anne and Jade’s representatives for comment.
Jesy Nelson: Life After Little Mix is available on Prime Video on February 13
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