Perrie Edwards hints a ‘really sad song’ on her new album is about Jesy Nelson as she reveals track is about a former friend and she ‘can’t listen to it without crying’

Perrie Edwards has hinted that she’s penned a track about her former bandmate Jesy Nelson for her debut solo album.

The singer, 30, revealed she wrote the song about ‘a friendship that I no longer have’ and admitted that she couldn’t listen to it ‘without crying’.

Perrie and Jesy, 33, both shot to fame in Little Mix after the band was formed on The X Factor in 2011, alongside Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall.

The girl group went on to win the show and skyrocket to global success, before Jesy unexpectedly quit the band in 2020, citing her mental health.

Since her departure she has not spoken to any of her former bandmates since, with Leigh-Anne, 32, previously admitting the remaining trio had therapy after to deal with the ‘painful’ and ‘traumatic experience’.

The singer, 30, revealed she wrote the song about ‘a friendship that I no longer have’ and admitted that she couldn’t listen to it ‘without crying’

Perrie and Jesy, 33, both shot to fame in Little Mix after the band was formed on The X Factor in 2011, alongside Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall (Jesy, Jade, Leigh-Anne and Perrie L-R pictured on show)

Speaking on The Zach Sang Show on Tuesday, Perrie discussed her new solo career after Little Mix disbanded in 2021, and the inspiration behind her upcoming album.

She revealed that one track was all about a former friend and while she didn’t explicitly name Jesy, she described them as someone who was a ‘big part of my life’.

She said: ‘There’s a friendship that I no longer have. I wrote a song about that. That song – I can’t even listen to it without crying.

‘It is about them and how we didn’t see eye-to-eye. It’s a really sad song. We don’t talk any more. They were a big part of my life so it’s sad how it all ended up.’

When host Zach asked if she would ever be willing to make up with the ex-pal, Perrie admitted: ‘I’m open to it. I don’t know if they would be after they hear the song.’

Jesy previously said she had left Little Mix because she had been struggling with her mental health in the band.

At the time of her departure, she said she found the ‘constant pressure of being in a girl group and living up to expectations very hard’, with the pop star admitting she was never ‘prepared’ for the job as she was ‘just a barmaid’.

She told The Sun: ‘For me my mental health issues were an ongoing thing while I was in Little Mix. I was struggling with my body issues, I was constantly being trolled and I really, really struggled.

The girl group went on to win the show and skyrocket to global success, before Jesy unexpectedly quit the band in 2020, citing her mental health 

Speaking on The Zach Sang Show on Tuesday, Perrie discussed her new solo career after Little Mix disbanded in 2021, and the inspiration behind her upcoming album

She revealed that one track was all about a former friend and while she didn’t explicitly name Jesy, she described them as someone who was a ‘big part of my life’

‘I was in it for nearly 10 years. I think I was never prepared for what was to come. I didn’t have social media or any of that. I was just a barmaid working in Dagenham.

‘I needed support and help to overcome that, and there wasn’t the time while I was in the band. I don’t have any regrets because I had to do what was right for me and I will always cherish the memories I had in Little Mix.’

In October last year, Leigh-Anne candidly wrote about the aftermath of Jesy’s ‘abrupt, sad and messy’ exit in her autobiography, Believe.

She said: ‘It was a complex and painful thing to come to terms with. We all felt it, that pain and sadness. The whole thing felt like a weird break-up, and I wasn’t prepared for it.

‘I wasn’t prepared for the intensity of those emotions. The whole thing was abrupt and sad and then it was messy, which made it even more painful.’

She went on to say: ‘I’ve been to therapy during the course of my career. When we decided to pause Little Mix, I felt compelled to go back. We all did.

‘In fact, it happened a little earlier than our hiatus. We were a family, the four of us were like sisters, and we had been that way since we were teenagers, so it’s not an over-exaggeration to say that losing a member was a traumatic experience.

‘When you have felt so much love and support with another person over such a long time and then that suddenly disappears you never fully get to understand why it hurts.’

At the time of her departure, Jesy said she found the ‘constant pressure of being in a girl group and living up to expectations very hard’, with the pop star admitting she was never ‘prepared’ for the job as she was ‘just a barmaid’ (band pictured in 2019)

In October last year, Leigh-Anne candidly wrote about the aftermath of Jesy’s ‘abrupt, sad and messy’ exit in her autobiography, Believe 

‘Therapy helped me, helped all of us, process what had happened and manage the emotions that came with it. 

‘All of that messiness is now so far behind me that it’s not even worth commenting on. We have moved forwards into something even brighter and stronger.’ 

Speaking about close pals Perrie and Jade, Leigh-Anne finished by penning: ‘The experience pulled the three of us even closer together.’ 

It comes after Perrie dropped her second single Tears on Friday, as the follow-up to April’s Don’t Forget About Us.

Her debut solo single was number one for two weeks on the Big Top 40 chart and peaked inside the top 10 of the Official Charts.

Where Don’t Forget About Us was an Ed Sheeran pop ballad with country music influence, Tears is smooth soul with an ’80s vibe.

In the song, Perrie laments the tears she wasted on an ex and, while saying she knows she will never get them back, she vows he will never see her cry again. 

Describing the inspiration for the track, she said: ‘This song is about coming out of a bad situation and letting go of what has happened in the past. 

It comes after Perrie dropped her second single Tears on Friday, as the follow-up to April’s Don’t Forget About Us 

Her debut solo single was number one for two weeks on the Big Top 40 chart and peaked inside the top 10 of the Official Charts. Speaking on Capital Breakfast last week, Perrie discussed the difficulties of following up a strong debut 

‘It’s that point where you feel empowered, and you leave the tears behind because you’ve come out the other side. It’s a sultry and smooth track that I’m really excited for you all to hear.’ 

Speaking on Capital Breakfast last week, Perrie discussed the difficulties of following up a strong debut.

She admitted: ‘There is a bit of pressure. I think there’s a bit of pressure because it’s so different. But I did warn everybody. I did bring a disclaimer to the table. 

‘When I promoted Forget About Us. I was like, my second single and third single are so different from the first. So, I think now you know what I mean by that, because Tears is like sonically completely different.’