They were the envy of teenage girls across the world, but Perrie Edwards says her meteoric rise to fame with Little Mix led to debilitating panic attacks, shattered friendships and more than a touch of regret.
The singer became a household name after winning The X Factor with band-mates Jade Thirlwall, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jesy Nelson in 2012.
To date the only girl group to win the show, Little Mix enjoyed prolonged success, winning multiple awards, amassing 15 billion streams and selling more than three million concert tickets throughout their decade long reign of modern pop.
But in 2022 they announced their hiatus, two-years after Nelson announced her abrupt departure from the band due to prolonged issues with her mental health.
Speaking to Fearne Cotton‘s Happy Place podcast the day after former One Direction star Liam Payne fell to his death from a hotel balcony, Edwards, 31, admits her shattered friendship with Nelson has inspired a new song.
Perrie Edwards has spoken to Fearne Cotton’s My Happy Place podcast about her struggle with panic attacks, soaring anxiety and regret over losing her friendship with Jesy Nelson
The singer became a household name after winning The X Factor with band-mates Jade Thirlwall , Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jesy Nelson in 2012 (pictured on the show in 2017)
She said: ‘I wrote a song about it – a friendship I had that I no longer have. We don’t know how to talk about friendship breakups.
‘It’s still as heartbreaking – when you go through all these things with someone all the highs and lows and then they’re just gone.
‘But these things happen. Do we try and rectify things? Or just stay away?’
The singer, who embarked on a solo career with the release of debut single Forget About Us in April, also revealed she has been plagued with panic attacks since finding fame with Little Mix.
Citing one notable incident that took place while the band were in the United States, she explained. ‘My anxiety started when we were in Vegas a few years ago when something happened.
‘I’d been having panic attacks for a while. I thought I was dying, my heart hurt and I went to hospital and they were like “what drugs have you taken?” and I said nothing!
‘I told them “something’s happening to my heart, I’m going to die and I was having a panic attack.”
‘Since that trip they just kept coming and it got so bad I had to ask my mum if she was going to put me in a mental institute.’
Cotton’s latest podcast instalment was recorded the day after former One Direction star Liam Payne fell to his death from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires
Edwards admitted her shattered friendship with Jesy Nelson, who left the band in 2020, has inspired a new song (L-R: Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jesy Nelson, Perrie Edwards and Jade Thirlwall)
She added: ‘Having therapy has helped me massively. I tried so many therapists and doctors. I catastrophize normal daily life things but when I’m on stage I’m fine.’
Edwards also broke her silence on Liam Payne’s tragic death as she spoke in the candid new podcast interview, released on Monday morning.
The Little Mix singer told of her heartbreak at his death and insisted that artists in the music industry ‘aren’t looked after enough’.
One Direction singer Liam died earlier this month aged 31 after falling 45ft from the third floor into the courtyard of the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires, sparking an outpouring of grief from distraught leaving fans around the world.
Little Mix and One Direction both started their careers on The X Factor and Perrie dated bandmate Zayn Malik meaning the two bands had a close relationship.
She aid: ‘I think it just feels weird. It’s just so sad and heartbreaking and my heart hurts for his family and friends, Cheryl, his little boy.
‘It’s devastating I can’t imagine how they must be feeling now. I didn’t think it was real when I read it, it’s in the air and everyone can feel it.
‘Me and the Little Mix girls were messaging and Leigh-Anne (Pinnock) just said it feels very close to home. Our careers were very aligned, we had a close relationship with them. It’s honestly so sad, it made my body feel so weird when I saw the headline.’
Edwards also broke her silence on Liam Payne’s tragic death as she spoke in the candid new podcast interview, released on Monday morning
Edwards and her bandmates with Tulisa Contostavlos after winning The X Factor in 2012, The singer says she has struggled with panic attacks and anxiety since finding fame
She also opened up on the price of fame during the interview, discussing online trolling and how people in the music industry aren’t looked after enough.
Perrie said: ‘There are no consequences for people’s comments online. People are not looked after enough in this industry, people are put on a pedestal.
‘They are treated like a god and then everyone jumps on this bandwagon of like ‘let’s tear them down’. But people are human. Can we make rules with social media?
‘I can’t bear it – I try to not look as I can go into a hole of just looking at negative comments. Success is good but fame is different – there is a dark side to it.
‘It’s intense. I bring my therapist to work with me sometimes as I can’t cope with the panic attacks sometimes.’