Perrie Edwards speaks out on ‘heartbreaking’ friendship break-up with Jesy Nelson

‘I would rather it went differently,’ said the singer, hinting that the feud had been instigated by Nelson

Little Mix star Perrie Edwards has revealed her “heartbreak” after her friendship split with former bandmate Jesy Nelson.

Nelson, 33, left the band in 2020, citing the toll the work had taken on her mental health. Her experience was also the subject of of a popular BBC documentary titled, Jesy Nelson: Odd One Out. Last year, she admitted she hadn’t spoken to her former friends and bandmates in years.

Nelson and Edwards were a part of Little Mix since the band’s inception in 2011 on The X Factor, along with Jade Thirlwall and Leigh-Anne Pinnock.

In a new interview with Cosmpolitan Edwards spoke out about the estrangement.

“We don’t talk, and haven’t done for a long time,” she said. “It’s really sad, it’s heartbreaking. But sometimes these things happen and people decide they want to part ways, and that’s absolutely fine.

“I would rather it went differently, but you can’t control how things go.”

She admitted that she leans on former X Factor judge Cheryl Cole for support related to the industry.

“I love her. My manager, who used to manage her, had a birthday party recently, and I was just letting rip (about things that had happened to me). And Cheryl was like, ‘Yep, tell me more.’ She’s just the best,” she said.

Bandmates no longer speak (Getty Images)

However, Edwards chooses to look back on the friendship with Nelson for its positives, despite the way things ended.

She called the time the friends were together in the band as “the happiest time of my life. All we did was laugh together, banter together, cry together. It was so much fun. Yes we went through a lot in those 10 years, but we had each other.”

Giving an example of one of their best memories, Edwards recalled a late night out followed by an appearance on Sunday Brunch hours afterwards, saying: “Our glam could sometimes take four hours, so our call time was 4am or 5am. I remember Jesy and I were having the best night, and kept saying, ‘We really should be getting home now.’”

Little Mix were formed on ‘The X Factor’ (Dave J Hogan/Getty Images for MTV)

“It was just so fun. We ended up rocking up to Sunday Brunch after a McDonald’s and we were still drunk. We were giddy and delirious.”

In an interview with The Sun last year, Nelson blamed her experience in the band for the distance: “For me my mental health issues were an ongoing thing while I was in Little Mix. I was struggling with my body issues, I was constantly being trolled – and I really, really struggled with it.

“I don’t have any regrets because I had to do what was right for me and I will always cherish the memories I had in Little Mix.

“So no, we haven’t talked since then. Never say never, but I honestly wish them the best on their solo journeys now, which is so exciting.”