Former Little Mix star Jesy Nelson says premature twins have ‘reunited’
By Lauren Del Fabbro, PA Entertainment Reporter
Former Little Mix star Jesy Nelson has said her premature twins have “reunited” for the first time since being in intensive care.
The 33-year old singer gave birth to Ocean Jade and Story Monroe Nelson-Foster on May 15, around 31 weeks and five days early.
In an Instagram post shared on Sunday, Nelson gave an update on the babies’ health with a picture of her holding the twins next her partner, musical artist Zion Foster, describing them as the “strongest little girls”.
A post shared by @jesynelson
She said: “Nothing or no one will ever be able to prepare you as a parent for NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). It’s the most scary overwhelming feeling of emotions not being able to feel like you can protect your babies.
“Naturally as a mother you just want to hold them and comfort them when they cry but you can’t because there are what feels like a million wires coming out of them and tubes and masks in the way with people poking and prodding them, it breaks your heart into a million pieces.
“Slowly as the days go by and they get stronger and wires start to come away, moments like this feel like a dream.
“Having them reunited for the first time ever today was the most magical feeling I will never be able to describe.
“The strongest little girls I’ve ever known who really do have the most inspiring story to tell.”
The singer announced her pregnancy in January and has documented her complications on her social media including Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS).
According to the NHS, TTTS affects 10 to 15% of identical twins who share a placenta and “can have serious consequences”.
The singer is best known for being a former member of the pop group Little Mix, which rose to fame after winning X Factor in 2011 and included members Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Perrie Edwards and Jade Thirlwall.
After nearly a decade together, with chart-topping singles including their winning song Cannonball, Shout Out To My Ex and Wings, the singer decided to leave the group in December 2020.
Nelson has since released two songs as a solo artist – Boyz, which featured US rapper Nicki Minaj in 2021 and the single Bad Thing in 2023.
She will also feature in the new Prime Video docuseries, Jesy Nelson: Life After Little Mix, which will follow the singer through her high-risk pregnancy in the run-up to the premature birth of her twins, born this month, while also taking a closer look into her decision to leave the girl group.