Little Mix alum Jesy Nelson shared some personal, heartbreaking news with fans regarding her twin daughters.
The 34-year-old revealed in an Instagram video posted Saturday that her 8-month-old girls, Ocean Jade and Story Monroe, have been diagnosed with a rare neuromuscular disorder called Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Type 1.
“We were told that they’re probably never going to be able to walk, they probably will never regain their neck strength so they will be disabled,” Nelson, who broke down in tears during the video, explained. “So the best thing we can do right now is to get them treatment and then just hope for the best.”
Per the Cleveland Clinic, spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a genetic condition that causes worsening muscle weakness. The clinic further explains that the condition eventually causes certain muscles to waste away with time. It stresses that there no cure for SMA, but that therapies and medications can help manage symptoms.
“It is the most severe muscular disease that a baby can get,” Nelson noted in her video. “In the space of two weeks of getting their diagnosis … I have to put them on breathing machines and do lots of stuff that no mother really should ever have to do on their child.” Nelson detailed that her own mother flagged the initial symptoms. “A few months ago, my mum noticed that the girls were not showing as much movement in their legs as they should be.”
The girls, whom Nelson shares with fiancé Zion Foster, 27, were born premature after a high-risk pregnancy, but the couple were initially reassured everything was okay.
“We were told, ‘They look great, they’re healthy and everything is fine,’” Nelson recalled. “A few signs then started to show a bit later on that they were struggling to feed properly. It was getting gradually less and less and less.”
“If anyone is watching this video and they think they see these signs in their child, then please, please take your child to the doctor, to the hospital, because time is of the essence, and your child will need treatment,” she said. “And the quicker you get this, the better their life will be.”
“If it’s not treated in time, your baby’s life expectancy will not make it past the age of 2.” Nelson quit Little Mix in 2020. In late 2021, her bandmates all unfollowed her on Instagram after she was accused of blackfishing in the music video for her debut solo single, “Boyz,” featuring Nicki Minaj.
After being hit with backlash over her appearance and singing style in the music video, Nelson took a step back from the limelight. She and Foster welcomed their twins on May 15, 2025.
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