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In a new documentary called “Odd One Out”, Little Mix star, Jesy Nelson has opened up about how the vile and cruel comments she received online drove her to attempt to take her own life.

Thrown into the spotlight after winning The X Factor in 2010, Jesy was immediately hit by online bullies in the worst possible way, and after 5 years of relentless abuse she said ‘I felt that I physically couldn’t tolerate the pain any more’.

At one stage Jesy was offered time off, but, she was afraid to admit that she was struggling. ‘Our schedule was so gruelling. I was going to see a therapist at six o’clock in the morning, crying, and then going to a photoshoot. I felt I had to be this person who was like … “I don’t care what people are saying about me, I’m this strong woman.” That was the role I had to take on in the group, when really I was an absolute mess.’

Jesy says that she only started to feel better when she deleted her twitter account once and for all. ‘Don’t get me wrong, I still have days when I feel s**t in myself but instead of beating myself up about it and being miserable, I think: “OK, I’m going to have my moment of being sad, and I’ll be over it”,’ she added. ‘Before, I didn’t let myself be sad. ‘Now I’m mentally a lot happier, I just think people are always going to have an opinion. But I only care about mine.’

The documentary will air this Thursday, September 19th, on BBC1 at 9pm.

If you’re struggling with any of the issues raised in this post, please talk to someone you trust or refer to any of these amazing organisations…

Cover photo: Rahul Bhatt


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