Jesy Nelson’s exit from girl group Little Mix has Liam Payne reflecting on former One Direction bandmember Zayn Malik’s decision to leave their group.
ICYMI, Jesy announced Monday (December 14) that she was leaving Little Mix after nine years.
“To all my Mixers, The past nine years in Little Mix has been the most incredible time of my life,” Jesy wrote in her note on social media. “We have achieved things I never thought possible. From winning our first Brit Award to our sold out shows at the 02. Making friends and fans all over the world I can’t thank you all enough from the bottom of my heart for making me feel like the luckiest girl in the world. You have always been there to support and encourage me and I will never ever forget it.”
“The truth is recently being in the band has really taken a toll on my mental health. I find the constant pressure of being in a girl group and living up to expectations very hard. There comes a time in life when we need to reinvest in taking care of ourselves rather than focusing on making other people happy, and I feel like now is the time to begin that process,” she continued. “So after much consideration and with a heavy heart, I’m announcing I’m leaving Little Mix.”
During a TikTok live, Liam shared his thoughts on her decision to leave the group.
“Someone Zayn‘d out,” Liam said. “No, no. Let’s be serious about this. It’s always sad at this moment in time when bands get into that sort of thing. Having been there myself, I felt that Zayn left for pretty much the same reason in a weird way.”
One Direction announced that Zayn was leaving the band in March 2015 – five months later, the remaining four members, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson announced the 1D was taking a hiatus. They’ve since forged their own solo directions musically.
“I wish Jesy all the best. I wish the girls all the best for carrying on as a three,” he continued. “It’s a tough time and I do feel for them because everyone is watching in that little fishbowl at the moment and no one really understands what’s going on or how it feels for some people.”
