Jesy Nelson opens up about starving herself at peak of fame: ‘I’d drink Diet Coke for a solid four days’

Singer reveals she would occasionally eat a packet of ham when she felt dizzy

(Getty Images)

Jesy Nelson has opened up about starving herself at the peak of her fame.

Speaking to The Guardian, the Little Mix singer revealed she would sometimes consume only soft drinks in the run up to video shoots or TV performances.

“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,” she told the publication. “Then I’d binge eat, then hate myself.”

Nelson went on to explain that she didn’t think of herself as having an eating disorder.

“I could see that I was losing weight and sometimes I’d see a few good comments and that spiralled me to be like: ‘This is how I need to stay’.”

“No one cares whether your performance was good, or if you sounded great.”

The 28-year-old singer remembered dreading attending events where she might be photographed to the point where she’d skip them altogether.

On one occasion, Nelson explained her body image concerns led to a “meltdown” at a magazine photoshoot where the clothes provided were the wrong size.

Elsewhere in the interview, Nelson recalled attempting suicide after suffering abuse from online trolls.

“I felt that I physically couldn’t tolerate the pain any more,” she said.

Now, Nelson explained that she is in a better place. “Don’t get me wrong, I still have days when I feel shit in myself but instead of beating myself up about it and being miserable, I think: ‘OK, I’m going to have my moment of being sad, and I’ll be over it.’ Before, I didn’t let myself be sad.”

Being in a relationship with former Love Island contestant Chris Hughes has also helped, she added.

On Sunday, when the interview was published, Hughes praised Nelson’s candour in a tweet, writing: “My girlfriend is the best motha f***ing role model on this planet [sic].”

Nelson’s struggles with fame, body image and mental health are discussed further in a new new BBC One documentary, Jesy Nelson: Odd One Out, which airs on 12 September at 9pm.

You can contact the Samaritans by calling them for free from any phone for free on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org or visit www.samaritans.org to find details of your nearest branch.

If you’re suffering from an eating disorder and need support, you can contact the Beat helpline on 0808 801 0677, the youth line on 0808 801 0711 and the student line on 0808 801 0811.