Jesy Nelson backs under-16 social media ban to protect daughters

Jesy Nelson knows more than most about the negative side of social media.

The former Little Mix star has faced a torrent of online trolling since she first appeared on The X Factor in 2011.

In a new documentary which charts her journey into motherhood, the singer says social media was the "downfall" of her mental health.

Now as a mother of twin girls, the pop star says she supports these platforms being banned for under-16s in the UK.

"I'm all for kids being kids for as long as possible," she tells BBC Newsbeat.

"But I also understand that there's obviously a point when, if your child is the one that doesn't have social media or doesn't have the latest thing, are they then going to get bullied?"

Last month, the government launched a consultation on the issue as part of measures aimed at protecting young people's wellbeing.

Jesy tells Newsbeat that, when she thinks about eight-month-old Ocean and Story, she wants to be "open and honest and protective" of them, and hopes they will feel they can do the same.

Prime Video documentary Life After Little Mix gives a candid insight into Jesy's pregnancy journey, and includes the emotional moment when she first learns her daughters have Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome.

It's a rare and potentially life-threatening condition when twins share one placenta.

After undergoing an operation to treat the condition and a long period in hospital, the 34-year-old singer gave birth to her twins prematurely in May at 31 weeks.

A few months later, Jesy's mother noticed the twins' legs weren't moving in the way she thought they should.

Following a series of urgent tests, they discovered Ocean and Story had Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Type 1, a severe and rare genetic condition that can cause muscle weakness and may lead to death within two years if left untreated.

Jesy says she decided to let the cameras in so she could document "all these amazing memories" while pregnant and later show them to her children.

"Obviously it just did not play out in any way, shape or form in which I thought it was going to," she says.

"But my reasons for making it before are now so different to what they are now."

Jesy says she feels "so grateful" the cameras were there, and her new aim is to "raise as much awareness as possible" about the muscle condition.

She also wants to show her daughters "how resilient and strong and amazing" they are, she says.

The twin girls have now received a one-off gene infusion treatment which preserves any muscles that are still working.

But they will not be able to regain strength in those that have already been affected.

Jesy says she's been told the girls will probably never walk or "regain their neck strength".

The singer tells Newsbeat the twins have hospital check-ups twice-a-week due to "lots of side effects" from the infusion, but says they are "doing as well as they can".

"We're just taking each day as it comes really, it's all we really can do with this diagnosis," she says.

"They're happy and they're smiling and that's all I can ask for."

The documentary series showcases the steadfast support Jesy has had from her family, friends and the twins' father, musician Zion Foster.

However, Jesy admits the pressure of the past year has been a "really stressful, traumatic time" for her and Zion.

"Our main focus is our girls and we just want to co-parent the best way we can and give them all the love and energy and positivity," she says.

The six-part series will also see the singer open up about the pressures of fame, her decision to leave Little Mix in 2020 and the controversies that followed.

She was the first member of the girl group to go solo and release her own material, but the music video for her 2021 debut single Boyz, featuring Nicki Minaj, sparked allegations of "blackfishing" - when someone pretends to be black or mixed-race.

She later addressed the accusations and said she never intended to cause offence.

As for The X Factor, Jesy says she has a "bittersweet relationship" with the talent show, and feels "lots more could have been done" to protect artists' mental health.

Jesy admits that the trolling she used to receive would "really affect and hurt" her, but having therapy has helped her process those feelings.

"I now actually have a lot of sympathy for people that feel the need to write nasty things," she says.

"Because I genuinely believe that no happy person would ever feel the need to go and say something mean or go out of their way to be nasty."

Asked whether she would consider being back in a group again, the singer says she cannot think about the future right now as her focus is on her daughters.

"If I'm being completely honest, I can't see any anything other than my girls right now," she says.

"What I'm having to deal with them right now is full-on, I don't think anyone realises I literally don't get a second in the day...

"My main focus is my girls and just trying to raise awareness."

Jesy has joined calls for SMA to be added to an existing heel-prick test that checks newborn babies for 10 rare but serious conditions.

Last month she sat down with Health Secretary Wes Streeting to discuss the NHS's plans, and afterwards the Department of Health confirmed a large-scale trial across the NHS was planned.

It said two-thirds of babies would be screened for SMA from next year to build evidence to support a national screening programme.

Streeting said he would push for this to be brought forward and expanded to all babies.

Jesy Nelson: Life After Little Mix will launch on Prime Video on 13 February.

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