Jesy Nelson: Life After Little Mix (2026) s01e06 Episode Script

[newsreader] The singer Jesy Nelson
has quit the girl group Little Mix
after she said constant pressure
had affected her mental health.
Jesy said,
"The past nine years in Little Mix
has been
the most incredible time of my life."
[reporter] "I find the constant pressure
of being in a girl group
and living up to expectations
very hard," she said.
Very, very sad day
for Jesy Nelson and her fans.
-Jesy Nelson is leaving Little Mix.
-Jesy.
-Jesy.
-Jesy.
Jesy Nelson.
Jesy Nelson has left Little Mix.
-She's gone.
-Oh, my God.
I've literally been fighting back tears.
[wailing]
This is very traumatic.
What the hell!
Jesy's found herself back in the studio
and returning to her passion,
which, she notes, is good
for her mental health.
It was everything that I had envisioned
for me as a solo artist…
Yay!
…but I did not expect the shitstorm
that was going to come with it.
Jesy Nelson is being accused
of so-called blackfishing.
[person] Jesy, you're making it
look worse for yourself.
-Jesy.
-Let her do what she wants.
Yeah, it's a lot of pressure.
[soft music playing]
[chattering]
[Zion]
She's such a good artist, isn't she?
[producer] Wait, are these Jesy?
[Zion] She painted it, yeah.
-[Zion] Jes!
-[Jesy] Yeah?
[Zion] Your work.
[Jesy] Yes, I'm an artist, you see.
Pop star by day,
-artist by night.
-[Zion chuckles]
-Ready?
-Yeah.
I can't be heavy lifting.
I've just had a C-section.
-[Zion] It's not heavy.
-No.
But also I just can't be arsed. [chuckles]
This isn't about me or Zion any more.
This is about the future of our girls.
-[Zion] Ready?
-[Jesy] And I don't know why,
just the thought of Cornwall
makes my heart feel so happy.
I'm ready to leave Brentwood…
and start my seaside life.
-[Zion] You ready?
-Let's go.
-Ouch.
-[Jesy laughs]
[Zion] Is there any part of you
that's scared to move?
[Jesy] We're literally just by ourselves.
[Zion] Yeah, I can't wait for that.
[Jesy, Zion chuckle]
[Jesy] One thing I am gonna miss, though,
is Nando's.
Yeah.
[Jesy] I can't believe there's not
a Nando's in the whole of Cornwall.
[Zion] Let's have pasties, mate.
-[Jesy] Pasties?
-[Zion] Pasties.
-Pasties.
-[Jesy] No, pasties.
My God, what are you gonna do
if one day Ocean comes home,
she's like,
"Dad, I want you to meet my boyfriend"?
How do you want him to greet you?
-Just, "Hi, sir."
-"Hello, Mr…"
"Hi, sir"?
Bloody hell!
Where're you living, the 1950s?
Show some respect.
[laughs]
[Jesy] It's gonna be fun, though.
I'm excited.
We're either gonna love it
or we're gonna hate it.
[Jan] At first, when she actually told me
that she was moving to Cornwall,
I was absolutely shocked.
But I think they both crave
peace and quiet now.
It's just a much nicer lifestyle.
Calmer. Just kinder.
[John] Jesy.
Jesy.
[Jan] Been taking them there, by the sea,
since they were babies.
It's just somewhere they've grown up
and she's got nice memories there.
But it's the first time she's just got
to do everything for herself
because I have done it all for her.
It'll be nice to see her get a hoover out.
I've never seen her do that before!
Gonna be completely different
to the last 15 years of her life.
Complete change. And a nice one.
[Jesy] How is it raining,
but still the sun is out?
There's gonna be a rainbow.
Right, where's my ponch?
-That's not the head! Where's the hood?
-Look, on your head. Look, it's there.
[Jesy laughing]
[Zion] Let's button you up.
Let's button you up.
Wait, I need to tuck my hair away.
[American accent]
The hair is priority, guys.
[chuckles]
[normal voice] Honestly…
You wouldn't catch me doing this
in Brentwood. [chuckles]
[Zion] Wow.
-[Jesy] You like it, boo?
-[Zion] Love it.
This is Mum's ideal weather.
She absolutely loves it.
Oh, my… [chuckling]
It's just not the life of glamour
down here.
But this is what I mean. I just feel
free when I'm here.
I literally said to Zion today,
we was walking up the high street,
this is the first time I've walked
into a high street, I don't have anxiety.
It felt so nice.
Look at that.
That's like a five-minute walk for us now.
I know.
-How nice is this?
-So nice.
And my whole life is completely changed
since having the girls.
So I would have never moved to Cornwall
if I hadn't have had children.
I feel like when you have children,
they almost force you
to have to make decisions
because it's not about you any more,
it's about them.
And we just really wanted them to grow up
in a really peaceful location
where they could just be kids
and just be free.
And that's how I feel when I'm here.
Are you gonna learn how to ride the waves?
[Zion] On a surfboard? Yeah.
[Jesy] Are you gonna be an absolute dude?
-[Zion] I'm gonna be a radical.
-[Jesy chuckles]
[Zion] First time bathing them here.
[clatters]
-[Jesy] All right, number two coming in.
-[Zion] There you go.
There you go. Is that nice?
[Jesy] I hope we get all cleaned.
We're gonna get all cleaned, aren't we?
We got to get all in
the nooks and cracks, haven't we?
[gasps] Look at that, in your new towel!
Show her to Chris.
Story bear!
[chuckles]
[Jesy] Look at our little princesses.
Fast asleep. This is Story bear.
Where's your sissy? She's fast asleep.
And we're having a lovely old time
in our new place, aren't we?
Currently doing our night feeds.
[Zion] I feel like they just ate.
This is what twin life is about.
They literally just ate and an hour later
they're ratting out for more.
-Ocean bear with Zion.
-[Zion] I'm shattered.
[both laugh]
-[shushing]
-[babies crying]
[Jesy]
Obviously absolutely adore having twins,
like, it is just the best thing ever
that's ever happened to us,
but when one of them cries,
it sets the other one off.
Both just wake up at the same time.
That part is really hard, isn't it?
-Sleep deprivation.
-Super hard.
And yeah, twins is just another level.
Imagine having triplets.
[zip opening]
I actually have no idea
what's in this case.
Jesus bloody Christ.
Get your vajazzles out.
-[chuckles] What are you doing?
-I'm unpacking all my costumes.
Where's that… Bloody hell!
When did you wear that one?
-Get your whips and chains out. [laughs]
-Where's the bottom?
I just wore this and nothing else.
I'm joking. I'm joking.
Feel how heavy it is.
-[Jesy] Blimey.
-[Zion] Bloody hell.
This is showbiz at its finest.
It really is.
Wow. [gasps]
-Oh, my gosh.
-Jesus.
This was the last outfit I ever wore.
-Wow.
-Yeah.
Like I always thought that
when I eventually got my house,
wherever I was gonna live,
that I'd have a room.
-Frame them. That is sick.
-Yeah, frame them. Or have…
Or have, you know, mannequins
and put them on that
and then name all the tours
that I wore them in.
Yeah, you should do that. That is so sick.
Are all of these from Little Mix
or are any of these
from when you went solo?
I think these are all pretty much
from Little Mix days.
What was that even like
the main difference from being in a group
to doing it solo?
It's a lot more scary being on your own
'cause obviously all eyes are just on you.
Yeah, I hear that,
but I do think there's
a certain level of freedom
-you get when you're a solo artist.
-Oh, yeah.
That is the part that's great about it
because you have the freedom to be
exactly who you wanna be.
-You're not confining yourself…
-Yeah.
-…to what the group has to be.
-Hmm. Mmm.
So you can be as creative as you want,
you can dress how you want,
-you can look how you want…
-Mmm.
-…you can make the music you want.
-Mmm.
Goodbye.
When I left the band,
the thought of being a solo artist
just never even entered my mind.
Like, I just was like… [stammers]
…I dunno. It just didn't.
But it was such a weird feeling for me
because I'd been so used to
non-stop working for ten years,
to then just have nothing was really…
[grunts]
And I just thought I need to get out.
So actually probably going into the studio
might actually be a good thing.
And, um, it made me feel so happy,
the thought of finally getting
to make music
that was really truly authentically me.
[muffled hip-hop music playing]
["Let Me Blow Ya Mind" playing]
[Jesy] I'd grown up on R & B and hip-hop
from being a dancer.
[song continues]
[Jan] She would always
come home from school…
I think it was MTV Base
or something like that.
Always have the music channels on,
always dancing, doing little routines.
[song ends]
She always dressed
completely different to everyone else
and got a bit of stick for it
as well once.
She went to work at a pub
in her baggy shorts and her cap
and her socks and like quite hip-hop
and I remember they sent her home
from the pub and said,
"No, you need to come back and dress sexy.
You can't dress like that."
I remember her saying,
"That's it. I don't wanna work there."
Anyone that knows me knows
that my love for R & B and hip-hop
is just like, yeah.
And so when I got the opportunity
to delve into that and experiment with it,
that excited me so much.
So today,
we are doing my first ever campaign shoot
for my solo music, which is very exciting.
[crew] How are you feeling about it?
I mean, I'm not gonna lie,
I was shitting myself at first.
I was a bit stiff Steve at first,
but now I'm loosey-goosey, so I feel good.
[Charlotte] It was so good to see her
so happy and so passionate again,
like she had that passion.
It was like, "Right, I'm gonna go solo."
"I've got these mu…
I've got these songs. These are my ideas.
Do you like this? Do you like that?"
She'd gone back to being Jesy.
[Jesy] And at that time,
I'd just come out of
a bit of a toxic relationship,
and I was like,
"Oh, my God, there's a song in this."
Like there's a song in me
falling for the one boy that's shit.
And, um, the first day
I went into the studio
was the day I wrote "Boyz".
Loose Change on the beat ♪
["Boyz" playing]
She couldn't wait
for this song to be released.
She was so proud of the music
that she was making. And rightfully so.
Like, to come out of a girl group
and then to do it on your own,
it's a big step to take.
[friend] This is exciting!
-Do you like it?
-Yes, I do!
Yay!
And always when I make a song,
I immediately think of the video.
So we are at Studio 68 today
and we are auditioning
the guys for "Boyz" video,
which is very, very exciting.
People don't really
audition dancers anymore.
And, um, I really wanted to do it
'cause I just feel like
you miss out on some really good gems.
[instructor] One, two, three, kick.
Press. Press, slide.
Step, and left, right, left.
[Jesy] One thing that I did love
about being a solo artist
was that I got creative control
over everything,
which I never had in Little Mix.
And it was like… [gasps]
"I could… Like, this is so exciting.
I could do whatever I want."
Yeah, we should definitely get
"Boyz" from the back as well.
That is sick.
-Yes, it has to be sitting down.
-Sick.
Every girl can relate to that.
I almost feel that spark again of
how I felt when I first entered the band,
of like… [gasps]
"This is exciting, this is new."
Like, this is what it should feel like.
[crew chattering]
[director] And action here!
I like a bad, bad boy ♪
You know I like a bad, bad, boy ♪
So today, guys, we are on set
of my first ever music video,
which is absolutely mental.
I don't think I've ever been this excited
in my whole entire life.
["Boyz" playing]
Babe, you are an icon.
-[Jesy] I know, hon.
-You need to be in a museum.
It's like everything I'd ever dreamed of,
from watching music videos as a kid
and now being able to create one
exactly like it
but in my way, is just magical.
I think the lead up to releasing "Boyz",
Jes was really happy and really positive
and everything was going really well.
-You did it.
-Was it good? Yay!
[Jan] She put a lot of hard work.
A real lot, I've never seen her
work so hard.
And everyone was saying,
"Oh, it's gonna do so well."
[friend] When it comes to you
launching it, it's going to be big.
You are gonna literally
come back to earth with a bang.
[laughs]
Humongous explosion like the Big Bang.
-That's my thing.
-Yeah, baby. It's coming.
She was so excited.
And she loved that music video
and she loved that vision
and she loved that…
at the time, loved that song.
Now she's learned to-to despise it.
We're coming out now.
[photographer] Perfect, Jesy.
In here, Jesy. Thank you very much.
The day it got released,
I was doing promo all day.
Only Jesy Nelson in the studio.
So I wasn't on my phone, I wasn't…
I wasn't looking at anything.
This is the first time
I've ever been heartbroken in my life
and I have wrote some bangers from it.
So, thanks, mate.
I remember someone from my management
told me that it charted really well.
It was, like,
number one in the iTunes chart.
[cheering]
-[shouts]
-[friend exclaims]
Yeah, it was looking like
it was gonna go to number one.
[radio host] Jesy Nelson is back
and we couldn't be happier.
Here is her new single "Boyz"
and it's a banger.
[Jesy] But I remember at
the end of the day of promo,
my manager pulled me to the side…
and he was like,
"Listen. Like, we need to have a chat.
There's a lot of controversy
going on with the video."
And I was like, "Okay." And he was like,
"It's not good."
Former Little Mix star Jesy Nelson
has denied that she's blackfishing
in the video for her new song.
But I suppose it's a form of
sort of cultural appropriation.
We have white women trying their best
to appear racially ambiguous.
The idea that she's trying to
look Black to me is a little bit…
It's a bit far-fetched.
She said her new video is intended to be
a celebration of
a type of music that she loves.
It was so big.
The whole world was talking about it.
Yeah, she's a white British woman
from the UK
and now she's looking
a little bit too Black.
And we're sick of it in America.
She's an artist,
let her do what she wants.
She's always had fake tan on.
She's had fake tan on
since she's been in Little Mix.
…there Jesy Nelson at the sort of
centre of this storm.
It needs a bit of stepping back and
thinking about why people are annoyed.
It actually breaks my heart that,
like, it…
upset people.
'Cause if I had known that was how
it was gonna play out,
never in a million years
would I have put it out.
That was never my intention.
And it's just sad.
It's like… It's just one of them things.
And I've learned a lot from it.
[producer]
Your first ever performance of it…
-Graham Norton?
-Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Talk me through that day.
["Boyz" playing through speakers]
[Jesy] I was petrified.
I almost pulled out of doing it.
["Boyz" playing through speaker]
[crew 1] You good, man. Trust me, man.
[crew 2] Personally, I think…
I feel like you can do it. But, like--
I know, but the last thing I wanna do…
And I know what my brain is like
-right now.
-[crew 2] Mm-hmm.
And I thought, "This ain't good."
This is not good,
to be performing when you're petrified.
And not a petrified of, like,
good, excited nerves.
Like sometimes I'd get
when I was performing in Little Mix.
It was like a… like, I'm scared.
Like, I'm actually scared.
I really appreciate everyone's energy.
I'm really sorry for being down.
[crew 3] Don't be sorry.
It's how you feel.
-I just feel… yeah, a lot of pressure.
-You got it. You got it. You got it.
There is a lot of pressure, but you…
This is growth.
Time for growth.
Time to push through that pressure.
[Graham Norton] This British pop star
topped the charts with Little Mix.
Now she brings us
her debut solo single "Boyz".
Please welcome Jesy Nelson!
[audience cheering, applauding]
[Jan] I think after all
the accusations come out,
she kind of went numb again really.
And I could see the sadness on Jes's face.
[Jesy] I was just in such a low place.
I couldn't do this anymore.
There's just something quite
dark about the music industry, I think.
And you can't ever get away from that.
Like, I love music. I love making it.
I loved performing.
But the minute I have to put it out
and do all the crap that comes with it,
it's then not fun to me.
And that is for me
why I personally don't think
I will ever go back into
doing music again.
Yeah.
It definitely feels like a weight
has been lifted off my shoulders.
I just feel free of that pressure.
Are you sure it's meant to be this tight?
[Zion] Well, we're getting there…
-Sit down. Sit down.
-[Jesy] This is taking the piss, honestly.
Like…
I've got it, trust me. Look.
[screams]
-Over the bum here. [chuckling]
-[chuckling]
Snug it on.
I can't get it up!
[Zion] Go, baby!
Yeah!
-Whoo! [chuckles]
-Ah.
Out of everything that's happened
in my life, good and bad,
I would not change anything
because everything led me
to my beautiful girls.
[Zion sighs] So, there's…
Geez, man. This is tough.
Oh. So they're slightly different. Look.
So I've gotta pick one.
[Jesy chuckles]
[Zion] Is she okay?
I'm just doing dad stuff.
Basically, there's no…
-I can't find the instructions.
-Mm-hmm.
But I feel like…
-You just gonna wing it?
-I'm gonna wing it. And I feel confident.
Interesting.
-Not sure I…
-[metal clatters]
Hmm.
[Zion] Gotta have faith.
This definitely goes here.
I just don't know what… what…
if it's a screw, if it's this.
[producer 2] Jesy, how do you find it,
being down here
so far away from your support?
Okay, so, know how to do washing.
-[Zion] You smash it at washing. Yeah.
-I'm an absolute pro at the washing.
The cooking, we're getting there.
It's still an air fryer job,
-but I cooked you breakfast the other day.
-She been making me breakfast.
-Honestly, I was like Super Mum.
-She been making me breakfast.
I've got the babies to sleep,
I did the washing,
-I did the cleaning, the hoovering…
-Jes made breakfast, can you believe it?
-I made breakfast for everyone.
-Bloody hell.
I've never felt like such an…
I felt like
I'd achieved so much in my life.
[producer 2] How's this looking, Jesy?
[Jesy] Um…
One thing I love about Zion is if he,
like, needs to figure something out,
he will figure it out.
So, right now I know
it doesn't look promising,
but I do know that
eventually this will be done.
This is why we work so well together.
'Cause we genuinely… We hardly ever argue.
Was that correct?
The only thing that
maybe I'm a bit like, "Oh, really?"
Is if, like…
Like when he bought the skateboard.
-I'm like…
-[chuckles]
-"Why have you bought a skateboard?"
-[laughs]
I broke my arm in two places
on a skateboard,
so I just have a phobia of skateboards.
-And I'm like, "You got two children."
-So you're projecting your fears on to me?
-That's what you're doing.
-That's not what I'm doing.
It sounds like it.
-Don't--
-I'm not gonna break my arm
'cause you broke your arm when you were
six years old on a skateboard.
-Can I--
-Do you understand what I'm saying?
-I've got something that I'd like to say.
-Here we go. [scoffs]
This is what will happen, yeah?
I'll say to Jes,
"What would you like for dinner?"
And guess what she will say.
She will say, "Whatever you want."
Great.
-I'll say, "I would love pizza."
-[Jesy chuckling]
Guess what she says.
"I don't want pizza."
[both chuckle]
[gentle music playing]
[Jesy] This corn on the cob looks banging.
-[Zion] This looks really, really good.
-[Jesy] Really good.
Don't you think we're just so lucky
that this is on our doorstep?
-Super lucky. Yeah.
-Don't you?
Who can say that this is five minutes
down the road from where they live?
I don't think people thought
we would be able to do this.
No, of course not.
I think people thought
we were gonna come to Newquay
and we were gonna be like,
"We can't do it by ourselves."
-Yeah.
-And we'd be back.
But I think we're literally smashing it.
I think you've taken to it
literally like a duck to water.
-Do you?
-Yeah.
It really hurts.
You know when you can feel a little hair?
-But on another note…
-[mutters] Yeah.
…I just wanna thank you.
-For what?
-Just for being, like…
-the best partner I could ever ask for.
-Aw.
-Baby.
-Yeah.
I feel like you've helped me…
find a love deeper than
I ever thought was possible.
-I just want you to know that.
-Aw. That's so lovely.
I love you so much, baby.
I feel exactly the same.
I love you more, my baby.
-So on that note…
-[exclaims, chuckles]
On that note…
-Stand up.
-Right.
Oh.
[Jesy laughs, sniffles]
I love you so, so much.
You're my best friend.
And you're the person I genuinely
wanna spend the rest of my life with.
-[sniffling]
-We've been through so much.
Good times. We've had our challenges,
but we've always come out stronger.
And you've always been the best partner
I could have ever asked for.
Through thick and thin.
-[giggles]
-So…
-Wait, I need this hand.
-[exclaims]
-No, it's this-- [laughs]
-Is it?
Oh, baby. So beautiful!
-Will you marry me?
-[laughing]
Yes.
Wow, this is the most beautiful ring.
[sniffles]
Oh, I love you so much. I can't see.
-[laughing]
-[people cheering]
-[Jesy] I love you so much.
-[Zion] I love you.
-[Jesy] I love you so much.
-Thank you for being the best partner.
[Jesy] You're the best partner. [kisses]
I love you so much.
This is the most beautiful ring ever!
-You like it?
-Baby, this is beautiful.
-And it's gold!
-[laughs]
[both exclaim]
I was gonna do a spin, but…
-I love you so much.
-I'm so glad you said yes.
-As if I would've said no.
-[chuckling]
Imagine. "No, I'm all right, thanks."
Never know.
Well, you should know.
[person 1] Congratulations.
-Oh, my God.
-[laughs]
-[person 2] Damn, that's a rock!
-[both laugh]
Oh, my God, so you all knew?
-How long did they know for?
-Months.
No!
-Are you serious? Oh, my God.
-Yeah.
Okay. You wanna take a piccie?
[Zion] Are you ready?
[Jesy] Babe, with eyes open or closed?
-[Zion] Both.
-But I think you should get the set in.
[Zion] Yeah. Okay, got it.
[Jesy] Let me see.
Wait. Okay,
don't get it with my eyes open.
-[Zion chuckling] Okay, do it again.
-[chuckling]
[Jesy] I'm not actually sure
where to start with this video.
[gentle music playing]
After the most gruelling…
three, four months,
um…
and endless appointments,
the girls have now been diagnosed
with a severe muscle disease
called SMA Type 1.
It is the most severe muscular disease
that a baby can get.
Over time,
it kills the muscles in the body.
And if it's not treated in time,
uh, your baby's life expectancy
will not make it past the age of two.
Um…
Sorry. Um…
[doctor] Good girl.
[Jesy] There is no cure for SMA.
Um, there's only treatment that can help.
And so the best thing we can do right now
is to get them treatment
and then just hope for the best.
[doctor]
Oh, well done, darling. Well done.
[speaks indistinctly]
We were told that, um, they're probably
never gonna be able to walk.
They probably will never
regain their neck strength.
You can see more with these.
[speaks indistinctly]
[Jesy] I practically feel like
the hospital has become my second home.
[sniffles]
I also feel like I've, like,
almost had to become like a nurse
within the space of two weeks
of getting their diagnosis
'cause I now have to, you know,
put them on breathing machine.
And do lots of stuff that no mother really
should ever have to do on their child.
The last few months has honestly been
the most heartbreaking time of my life.
I literally feel like
my whole life has done a 360.
I almost feel like
I'm, like, grieving a life that I thought
I was gonna have with my children.
And I know I have to be grateful,
you know,
because at the end of the day,
they're still here.
And that's the main thing.
And they've had their treatment
and I truly believe that my girls will
defy all the odds.
And with the right help,
they will fight this
and, you know, go on to do things
that have never been done.
Say, "I've just had
my second dose of medicine."
Yes, I have!