UK girl group Little Mix announced on their social media accounts that vocalist Jesy Nelson will be permanently leaving the band. This news comes just 3 days after the 9th anniversary of Little Mix winning the 8th season of The X Factor UK.

Little Mix has been in the spotlight for almost 10 years, releasing albums and going on tour. One of their most famous songs was “Shout Out to My Ex,” which was released in 2016. This song was their 1st single on their 4th album, “Glory Days.” Little Mix released their 6th album, “Confetti,” in November of 2020.

Jesy left the band due to mental health reasons, as she states in the post she made on Instagram. Jesy has struggled with her mental health for the past 9 years, the same amount of time the group has been together. She openly talks about it during her 2019 documentary “Jesy Nelson: Odd One Out,” which premiered on BBC Three.

All of this started due to the internet hate she received once she came into the spotlight during and after she won The X Factor UK back in 2011. Many would bash her appearance, send her death threats, and attack her constantly. This was because she “didn’t look like the other girls in the group.” 

Some people were already speculating that Jesy may have wanted to split from the group after she stated back in November that she was going to take a break from performing due to “private medical reasons.” She was missing from the past couple of performances the group gave, the most recent one being on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing on December 13th.

Some have been comparing her exit to the group with Zayn Malik’s departure from One Direction back in March of 2015. Zayn left the band for his mental health as well. 

Perrie Edwards, Jade Thirlwall, and Leigh-Anne Pinnock, the other 3 girls in Little Mix, have stated that they will still be together and will continue writing music.