Jesy Nelson has been left 'at her wits' end' after thieves reportedly stole her car containing vital medical equipment for her twin daughters from outside her Essex home last week, according to a source quoted in Heat magazine. The former Little Mix star, 34, who has spoken publicly about her babies' diagnosis with SMA1, is said to be feeling 'sick and angry' and increasingly vulnerable as she tries to cope as a single mother.
The news came after a series of already bruising months for Nelson. Her twin girls, Ocean and Story, were diagnosed late last year with type 1 spinal muscular atrophy, a rare progressive muscle-wasting disease. That diagnosis, the source says, arrived after a delay that meant the babies missed the optimum window for life‑changing treatment. Then in January she split from her fiancé of four years, Zion Foster, leaving her to shoulder almost all the day‑to‑day care for two chronically ill infants.
Little Mix Support Deepens
Behind the headlines about Nelson's heartbreak, there is, at least, a quiet system of support. Insiders claim that Nelson's former bandmates Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall have closed ranks around her, despite tensions that followed her departure from Little Mix in 2020.
'Being a single mum caring for two chronically ill babies is taking its toll on Jesy,' one source told Heat. 'She is incredibly strong, but after her car got stolen with the equipment inside, she's at her wits' end. There are so many emotions flying around. She feels sick and angry – she can't take much more.'
Another source said the Little Mix trio had been in regular contact with Nelson, offering both emotional backup and practical help. According to that account, they have not only been messaging her but have also offered to help replace some of the stolen medical kit and even stay overnight at her home so she can get proper rest.
'They've also offered to stay over at Jesy's to help her get some respite and give her the chance to do some self-care,' the insider is quoted as saying. 'Jesy is so grateful – it means the world to have that kind of love. She really needs it, because the whole experience has been so isolating at times and having her car stolen was a curveball she didn't see coming.'
Campaigning Amid Personal Strain
In the middle of this latest setback, Jesy Nelson has pushed ahead with a public campaign that owes everything to her daughters' diagnosis. Last week she took her fight to Downing Street, calling for newborn babies to be routinely screened for SMA1 at birth. The visit followed months of private turmoil over the delayed diagnosis of Ocean and Story, which meant crucial treatment options came too late.
For a singer more used to red carpets than government doorsteps, it was a stark shift in focus. Yet the motivation is painfully straightforward. Those close to her say the experience of watching her daughters miss that early treatment window has turned her into an advocate almost by necessity, determined that other parents are not left in the same position.
Her personal life, meanwhile, remains in flux. Nelson's separation from Foster, 27, came within weeks of her twins' diagnosis, piling emotional strain on top of the practical realities of round‑the‑clock care. More recently she has nudged the gossip columns again after she posted a photograph online of herself having drinks with a man whose identity was not shared, prompting speculation she may be opening the door, however cautiously, to dating.
One source suggests she is still trying to find her footing. 'It's been incredibly hard for Jesy to navigate this alone,' they said. 'She wants to do everything she can to protect her babies. She's determined to put on a brave face, and she's relying on the support from her family, friends and the Little Mix girls.'
There is, buried in that description, a tension that will be familiar to many parents of seriously ill children. Nelson is publicly fronting a national health campaign while privately dealing with the grind of hospital appointments, night feeds and medical routines now made more complicated by the theft of equipment she depended on.
