Little Mix alum Jesy Nelson is offering a glimpse into her life after her twin daughters, Story and Ocean, were both diagnosed with a severe muscular disease.
“I’m so in love with her little laugh,” Nelson, 34, wrote via her Instagram Stories, sharing a sweet photo of one of her babies sleeping. In the footage, a feeding tube could be seen attached to the infant’s face.
Nelson revealed earlier this month that both of her daughters were diagnosed with Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) Type 1. SMA, according to the Cleveland Clinic, is a genetic condition that causes worsening muscle weakness. There are five types of SMA, which can range in severity.
“A few months ago, my mum noticed that the girls were not showing as much movement in their legs as they should be,” Nelson said in a January 4 social media video. “[It] wasn’t really a concern to me at the time because from the minute I left the NICU, I was told, ‘Your babies are premature, so do not compare your babies to other babies. They won’t reach the same milestones. Take them as they are.’”
Nelson and her fiancé, Zion Foster, welcomed their children prematurely in May 2025 following the singer’s high-risk twin pregnancy.
After Nelson and Foster, 27, brought their daughters home, they started to notice certain “signs” that would become hallmarks of the girls’ SMA diagnoses.
“They were struggling to feed properly. It was getting gradually less and less and less,” she said. “Long story short, after the most grueling three [or] four months and endless appointments, the girls have now been diagnosed with a severe muscle disease called SMA Type 1. Type 1 is the most severe type that a baby can get. It stands for spinal muscular atrophy, which can affect every muscle in the body down to legs, arms, breathing, swallowing and … over time it kills the muscles in the body.”
Nelson continued, “If it’s not treated in time, your baby’s life expectancy will not make it past the age of 2.”
Once Story and Ocean were diagnosed with SMA, doctors informed Nelson and Foster that their kids would likely never “be able to walk” and would need wheelchairs.
“They’ll probably never regain any strength, so they will be disabled. The best thing we can do right now is get them treatment and just hope for the best,” Nelson stated. “I’m so grateful because if they don’t have it, they will die. It has just been endless, endless amounts of hospital appointments. I practically feel like the hospital has become my second home.”
Nelson is primarily just glad that her babies are “still here” and underwent treatments.
“They’ve had their treatment and I truly believe my girls will defy all the odds,” she concluded. “With the right help, they will fight this and go on to do things that have never been done.”
Nelson later shared an update on her kids during a Wednesday, January 7, interview on the U.K.’s This Morning talk show.
“They are still smiling, they’re still happy,” she said. “They have each other, and that’s like the main thing that I’m so grateful for because they could be doing this by themselves, but they’re twins and they’re going through this together, and I think that’s beautiful. All I can do is just try my best to be there for them. Give them positive energy.”
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