Jesy Nelson breaks down in tears after her petition to fund SMA1 screening reaches 100K signatures and will now be debated by MPs – following her twin daughters’ devastating diagnosis

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Jesy Nelson was overcome with emotion when her petition to add screening for Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 1 (SMA1) to newborn testing reached 100,000 signatures on Friday. This milestone means that members of Parliament will now have to discuss the issue in the House of Commons.

Perrie Edwards, age 34, and her former partner, Zion Foster, welcomed their twin daughters, Ocean Jade and Story Monroe, prematurely in May 2025. The babies were later diagnosed with a serious medical condition.

Spinal Muscular Atrophy type 1 (SMA1) is a genetic condition that causes muscles to gradually weaken and shrink. Because it severely affects swallowing, sucking, and breathing, individuals with SMA1 typically need feeding tubes to receive nutrition.

Jesy is calling on the NHS to broaden its newborn heel prick test to include screening for this condition. She believes a test, which costs about £1, could have allowed her twins to receive treatment sooner, potentially saving their legs.

The singer shared a video on Instagram of herself and her friends excitedly watching the number of signatures on a petition climb. They were overjoyed – and even a little emotional – when it reached 100,000, and the total has continued to grow, now exceeding 120,000.

Jesy shared an emotional post expressing her immense gratitude, saying she couldn’t find the words to describe how happy she was, and that it was all thanks to her fans.

Thank you to everyone who signed this petition – it means the world to me and to those affected by SMA. We’ve cleared a major first step, and I’m confident that working together, we can achieve real change!

While continuing to advocate for newborn screening for the condition, she’s shared that she has put her music career on hold.

Jesy appeared on Heart FM’s breakfast show Thursday and shared that she’s now completely focused on her twins.

She clarified that while she wouldn’t rule out making music again in the future, her children are currently her top priority and she simply doesn’t have the time for it right now.

My children are the most important thing in my life, and I’m dedicated to fighting for their health and well-being. Right now, that means working to improve newborn heel prick testing and helping them thrive – that’s what I’m focused on.

‘Because that’s going to determine their future. That’s my main focus right now.’

She recently shared with the Daily Mail that the daily medical treatments her babies require are heartbreaking, as she feels like she’s causing them pain when they cry out.

She said taking care of the twins was a very emotional experience, with some days being incredibly difficult and others a little easier.

Jesy and her former partner, Zion, didn’t anticipate the challenges of raising their children, and she admits that covering the costs of their medical care is a constant worry.

Jesy explained to the Daily Mail that it’s incredibly difficult to describe the pressure she’s under – you really have to experience it to understand how intense it is, even though she can talk about it.

In her new Prime Video documentary, Jesy Nelson: Life After Little Mix, Jesy Nelson openly discussed the reasons she left Little Mix.

Although she was close to her Little Mix bandmates Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, and Jade Thirlwall, the singer felt distant from them after she suddenly left the group in 2020 following a private suicide attempt.

She remembered needing to consider her legal position before talking to the girls, wondering if she was even allowed to share what happened.

I was upset that the lawyer told them I wanted to leave before I had a chance to explain it myself. It really hurt their feelings, and things definitely shouldn’t have happened that way.

Honestly, it really frustrated me when that opportunity was taken away. I just wanted a chance to explain why I couldn’t continue, but I never got it. It felt unfair to not be able to share my side of things.

When Nelson overdosed, she was supposed to compete in the final of Little Mix’s BBC talent show, The Search. Her unexpected absence led host Chris Ramsey to say she was sick.

It really hurt me to hear that the singer felt so betrayed by her lawyer. Apparently, he went ahead and publicly announced she was leaving the band without even talking to her first, and that caused a huge rift between her and the other members. As a long-time fan, it’s just sad to see things fall apart like this.

You know, as a lifestyle expert, I always say that open communication is key, and that’s exactly what I needed to do in this situation. I really prepared myself to have a heart-to-heart with my friends. I wanted to sit down, be completely honest about my actions and feelings, and truly help them understand where I was coming from. It was about being vulnerable and hoping they’d see things from my perspective.

My manager called and told me the team was willing to talk, but they wanted a therapist present during the conversation to feel comfortable.

‘I was like, “What? I’ve just come out of hospital, this is the time I need you the most.” I didn’t feel like they were my sisters. It’s been five years now; everytime I think about it I’m like, “Was it them, or was it the management?” I will never know that because we never got to have that conversation. 

Eventually, we had a phone call, but it was really uncomfortable. It felt strange, like we were talking to people we didn’t know at all.

That phone call was incredibly awkward – nobody knew how to respond, and it ended up being the last time we ever talked as a group.

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2026-02-14 12:06