Jesy Nelson’s ex-fiancé Zion Foster has hit back at accusations he abandoned his twin daughters after they were diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 1.
Story and Ocean were diagnosed with the genetic disorder, which causes progressive muscle weakness, in January 2026 - with the weeks before and after the diagnosis documented in new Amazon Prime series Jesy Nelson: Life Changing.
In one of the episodes, Zion could be seen struggling to come to terms with the devastating diagnosis, saying: “I’m not equipped to deal with this. I’m out of my depth; emotionally, physically and mentally. At the moment I’m surviving.
“I just need to get help.”
With Jesy adding: “I can tell he’s really struggling. For a 26-year-old to have to now be put in this situation… I feel like I can see his life flashing before his eyes.”
She and Zion announced their split later that month, with Jesy saying in the show: “It’s hard. It’s just me and mum now.”
She also said: “I think we’re both thinking, ‘how the f*** are we going to do this’, And we will because we have to. We don’t have a choice. It’s really f****** hard.”
After his quotes caused backlash, Zion took to his Instagram Stories on Wednesday (15.07.26) to set the record straight, as he wrote: “When I said I was ‘out of my depth’, I wasn’t saying I was walking away from my children or abandoning my responsibilities as a father.
“I was talking about the overwhelming reality of suddenly facing a rare and complex medical diagnosis that I knew nothing about.
"Being out of my depth meant I was learning. It meant I was trying to understand. It never meant I didn’t love my daughters or that I wasn’t going to be there for them...
"Please don't mistake vulnerability for abandonment."
He added: “I love my girls more than words could ever express. They are my world and always will be.”
Zion also addressed the revelation that Jesy was the one to end their relationship, as she said in the show “I decided we would be better off apart”.
Zion continued: “Although I respect that, it does not change the fact that I remain committed to my daughters in every way I possibly can.
“This journey has been heartbreaking for all of us. Nobody prepares you for news like this, and we’re all navigating it in our own way.”
In the docuseries, released this Friday (17.07.26), Jesy said her and Zion’s split was “inevitable”.
She said: “It’s a very traumatic thing that we’ve both been through. I think it’s quite inevitable for things like this to happen to couples
“I don’t think it’s a shock that we’ve broken up. You’ll either be a team or it’ll tear you apart and unfortunately I feel that’s what it’s done to me and Zion.”
Jesy added that “there’s no bad feeling” between her and Zion, but her “main priority” is her daughters.
She continued: “I just want to be the best mum with the best energy and positivity possible.
“The house was not like that when we were together. We’re both dealing with this situation completely differently, and together we were clashing.”
