Little Mix ‘have made secret plans to all go solo next year’

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Little Mix are all planning to go solo next year after it emerged Jesy Nelson has temporarily left the band due to ‘private medical concerns’.  

Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall are set to launching solo careers next year at the end of their existing record deal, it has been claimed.

They are said to have been secretly meeting with industry bosses as well as new managers and agents while Jesy, 29, also plans to kick start a solo career when she is feeling better.  

The Sun reports that Perrie, 27, and Jade, 27, are both looking at solo music projects while Leigh-Anne, 29, is eyeing up TV opportunities. 

A source said: ‘The girls have been open and honest with each other, and with their current management team.

‘They have started discussions with some prospective managers and agents about what their solo careers might look like.

‘Some of the girls might end up taking on solo projects with their current management team too. But this isn’t about ending the band, it’s about looking to the future.’

The source added that the group still have a tour to complete next April and will see it through, even if it is delayed due to Covid-19.

The insider also said the ladies are trying to emulate Take That, where each member drifts out to work on their own projects but come back together at different times.

They also claimed there is no ‘bad blood’ between the group and they are all supportive of each other’s wishes to go solo. 

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Little Mix for comment.  

Meanwhile, Jesy is taking an ‘extended break’ from the girl band due to a ‘private medical reason’, after she recently missed hosting the MTV EMAs and an appearance on the finale her band’s show, The Search.

A representative for the band said: ‘Jesy is having extended time off from Little Mix for private medical reasons.

‘We will not be issuing any further comment currently and ask media to please respect her privacy at this time.’ 

Jesy’s break comes following great success for Little Mix, with both their brand new album ‘Confetti’ as well as their talent show Little Mix: The Search, which saw them put together a number of bands who competed against one another to win a place support the girl group on their UK and Ireland tour next year. 

Jesy has been a member of the girl band since their formation on The X Factor in 2011, alongside Perrie, Jade and Leigh-Anne.

Two weeks ago Jesy was forced to pull out of the finals of Little Mix: The Search, after falling ill.

The pop starlet was due to appear on the grand finale of the competition, but a statement released just hours before the live show revealed that she was unwell. 

She was also unable to host the MTV EMAs, or perform alongside her bandmates as planned.

A statement released to MailOnline read: ‘Jesy is unwell and will not be appearing on tonight’s final of Little Mix The Search. 

‘She will also not be hosting or performing at tomorrow’s MTV EMA’s.’

The Little Mix girls had been due to host the 27th edition of one of the biggest nights in global music – the 2020 MTV EMAs – on November 8.

The band – who have been nominated for Best Pop, Best Group and Best Virtual Live, previously announced their gig on Instagram, saying ‘IT’S HAPPENING!

‘We are SO excited to announce that we’re going to be hosting the @mtvema’s on November 8th. This is gonna be so much fun!’

The rest of the band appeared without Jesy to decide the winner of the first series of their show.

In a tweet from the Little Mix account, they penned: ‘Can you believe tonight’s the FINAL of @LMTheSearch!!

‘We’re unbelievably proud of all 6 bands and we can’t wait to see the final 4 perform! We’re so sad Jesy won’t be able to join us tonight, but we have such an amazing show in store for you all x.’

Jesy last posted on her Instagram page on October 31 where she shared a snap of herself dressed up for Halloween.

The media personality confirmed her romance with boyfriend Sean Sagar, 30, after first being linked in July earlier this year.

Little Mix are slated to head on tour in April next year with their new album Confetti, but it is currently unclear whether Jesy plans to rejoin the group by then.

It is also thought that the band’s dates may also be delayed depending on Covid-19 restrictions nearer the time the tour is due to kick off. 

Little Mix were crowned the winners of The X Factor in 2011 when they become the first band to ever win the show in its history.

The girls shot to stardom with their first single Wings, before topping the charts with Black Magic and Shout Out To My Ex.

They recently released their sixth studio album, Confetti, which includes current hit Sweet Melody.

They were signed to Simon Cowell’s record label Syco until November 2018 when they switched to rival label RCA. 

Leigh-Anne told The Sun at the time: ‘We were with Syco for seven years and had an incredible journey but it’s going to be nice to change it up.’

Elsewhere, Jesy has won praise for her groundbreaking TV documentary Odd One Out, which addressed her struggles with online bullying and body image.

Jesy left viewers in tears as she bravely spoke about her battle with depression in her BBC documentary.

She talked in depth for the first time about how trolls, who mocked her over her looks and weight, triggered her into attempting to take her own life in 2013.

After the documentary aired, social media was awash with demands from fans to have the programme shown in schools to help educate youths. 

Fans took to Twitter: ‘Jesy Nelson’s ‘Odd One Out’ – show it in schools, tell your mates, watch it. Let’s knock this shit on the head. #JesyNelson… 

‘This Jesy Nelson documentary needs to be shown in every single school and college up and down the country to show that words can break even the most strongest looking people and ruin so many lives. Just be kind… 

‘Amazing woman, this documentary should be shown in schools all over the world, well done #Jesy Nelson…. Jesy Nelson’s documentary #OddOneOut needs to be seen far and wide, in every school, household, youth group…

‘By children and adults alike. What an inspirational, brave woman. Everyone (including schools) should watch Odd One Out and learn the importance of just being bloody NICE to other people what is wrong with the world man… 

‘Crying buckets over #OddOneOut . Jesy, @LittleMix, you are so brave, so powerful, so talented, so beautiful. I am insanely proud of you. This docu should be shown in every school, parents, teachers… everyone should watch this’.  

At the start of the show, Jesy’s mum Janice said: ‘I know it might seem strange to say but if I could have back my Jess as I had her before I would change it like that. 

‘I miss her. I just feel like I’ve lost Jess to social media and she’s addicted to what people are saying.’    

Jesy then described how trolling over her looks began on The X Factor, where they labelled her the ‘fat one’ in the band. 

The singer went onto tearfully reveal at the height of her bullying in 2013 that she starved herself for four days as she prepared to return to the show. 

‘When I had lost quite a bit of weight we were going back on the X Factor and I didn’t give a s**t about whether our performance would be good,’ she said. 

‘All I cared about was people seeing me and saying ‘she’s lost weight’.’

But Jesy was left heartbroken after she was inundated with taunts over her weight, saying her ‘face was deformed’ or comparing her looks to ET and Miss Piggy following the performance.

It was then, Jesy tried to commit suicide.

Breaking down in tears, Jesy said: ‘I just remember thinking, ‘I just need this to go away, I’m going to end this’.

‘I remember going to the kitchen and just took as many tablets as I could. Then I laid in bed for ages and kept thinking, ‘Let it happen. Hurry up”.’

To try to heal the deep mental wounds inflicted by online bullies, the Wings hitmaker met with others who had experienced cyber bullying as well as receiving therapy.

During the therapy, Jesy watched a clip from the X Factor for the first time in a bid to help accept herself. 

‘I have shut away the old Jesy away for such a long time because I just felt like I needed to be this new Jesy because everyone hated the old Jesy.

‘My trauma runs deep and I may not ever really recover properly. I don’t think I will be ever the same again but I do think I’m getting better.’ 

Jesy’s then boyfriend Chris Hughes also spoke about the star during the programme.  

‘One day I think it will click. She is beautiful and she is unbelievable. And she doesn’t see that when she takes her make-up off,’ he said in the documentary. 

‘When I first started spending a lot more time with her, especially staying round her house, I noticed that she had insecurities.

‘There’d be times she wouldn’t let me see her physically without make-up, especially for the first four or five times where I’d come round here and we’d go on dates and stuff.

‘She’d get up in the morning almost before crack of dawn to make sure she was out of bed and putting make-up on and got back in bed with a full face of make-up on.

Thousands took to Twitter to also praise the songstress.

One wrote: ‘I just cried so much and I didnt even watch the whole thing yet like omg this is so heartbreaking. Jesy Nelson deserves the whole freaking world!’

Another added: ‘Cried continuously watching Odd One Out how human beings can be so awful to each other to the point where people take their lives is unfathomable. Well done Jesy Nelson you beautiful, amazing woman .. your bravery is commendable’. 

A third chimed: ‘The Jesy Nelson documentary is one of the saddest and scary things I’ve ever watched. This needs to be shown everywhere to teach people the devastating affects their words & comments have. Be kind. Always.’ 

‘So much love for Jesy what a powerful documentary to show the affect & seriousness of cyber bullying. Such a strong and beautiful woman to tell her story to try and help others,’ wrote another viewer. 

‘The way Jade talked about the time Jesy attempted suicide….. I honestly had to stop the video and step outside for a little bit cause I couldn’t breathe nor see the screen through all the tears. These girls love each other so much,’ a fifth fan typed. 

‘This really does show that you never truly know what anyone’s going through. None of us knew how bad it got for Jesy because she was constantly putting on a brave face. Treat people with kindness because you never know what they may be dealing with.’ another added.  

Discussing the impact the trolling had on her, Jesy told Glamour: ‘I just wanted to be Jesy. I didn’t want to be Jesy the fat one. I wanted people to see me as normal, so I punished myself. I starved myself.

‘If I did eat, I hated myself, I’d punish myself and make sure I didn’t eat for four days. It was horrible, a vicious circle.’

Jesy also confessed that the negative comments about her face hurt more than the fat jibes.

She admitted: ‘I got used to people calling me fat because I was like whatever I’ve seen it so much. 

‘People started going in on what my face looked like with memes and people would chop my head off in group photos and replace it with a monster or ET or a sloth.

‘I became a joke to everyone, and it really knocked my confidence. I never experienced anything like it in my life.’   

Jesy’s online bullying ordeal began when she shot to fame in 2011 when Little Mix became the first group to win the show.  

Following their win, Jesy told how the girls were forced to get social media, with the star admitting the move had ‘completely changed my life’. 

She went on to say that once the comments came rolling in, it became one of the ‘worst times’ of her life.   

She said that being labelled the ‘fat, ugly one’ completely ‘consumed every part of me’ as the trolling took its toll.  

Speaking further about reading comments about herself, Jesy revealed to the Guardian that at the time, she had become obsessed with reading the cruel taunts online.

‘I had a routine of waking up, going on Twitter, searching for the worst things I could about myself,’ she explained. ‘I’d type in the search bar: ‘Jesy fat’, or ‘Jesy ugly’, and see what would come up. 

‘Sometimes I didn’t even need to do that, I’d just write ‘Jesy’ and then I’d see all the horrible things. Everyone told me to ignore it – but it was like an addiction.’

In the interview, she went on to say that as Little Mix’s fame soared, the pressure for her to look good affected her health, causing her to starve herself.

Jesy said: ‘I’d starve myself… I’d drink Diet Coke for a solid four days and then, when I felt a bit dizzy, I’d eat a pack of ham because I knew it had no calories. Then I’d binge eat, then hate myself.’

The starlet went on to recall how she’d avoid events that she’s be photographed and dreaded photo shoots, adding that on one occasion where the stylist had bought the wrong sized clothes, caused her to have a tearful ‘meltdown’.    

Jesy has long been candid about her experience with body shaming and trolling over the years, after being viciously targeted when she was a contestant on The X Factor 2011.

She memorably broke down during the competition as she discussed how hard it had been dealing with negative comments from complete strangers.

Speaking in the VT at the time, she said: ‘People are writing a few nasty comments and it has just got to me a little bit.

‘When you’ve got your own insecurities and then when people go and tell you and write them on websites for everyone to see it just makes you feel really rubbish.    

‘Being in a girl group with three beautiful girls who are a lot slimmer and smaller than me… and obviously I know I’m a lot bigger. I find it really hard when people publicise it on Twitter.’ 

The turning point came in February 2014 when, while on Devi Lovato’s tour where the band where a supporting act, Demi’s dancers advised her to delete Twitter, likening it to a book filled with ‘loads of nasty things’.  

Little Mix have since gone on to become one of the biggest ever girl group’s in the UK, scoring number one hits including Wings, Black Magic and Shout Out To My Ex.     

For confidential 24/7 support in the UK, call Samaritans on 116 123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details.