Jade Thirlwall admits she has a 'daily battle with herself to not go on Ozempic' after past eating disorder struggles

Daily Mail​

a day ago

Jade Thirlwall has revealed she faces a 'daily battle' not to turn to Ozempic after years of struggling with eating disorders.
The Little Mix star, 32, who shot to fame on The X Factor in 2011, says she is now the healthiest she has ever been - but still receives constant comments about her weight online.
Talking to The Guardian, she revealed: 'I have a daily battle with myself not to go on Ozempic.
'I don't judge people that do, but because I have a history of eating disorders, I don't know where taking something like that would end for me.'
She added that the trolling is a sad consequence of stepping into the spotlight as a solo star: 'Little Mix fans were all about empowerment and celebrating your body however you look.
'Now I'm in my 30s and the healthiest I've ever been, but every time I post a picture, there are comments saying, "She must be pregnant."'
She added: 'The sad thing is that it's usually women. But people are used to seeing me in a group environment five or 10 years ago when I was stick-thin because I was in my early 20s with an eating disorder.'
Jade - who is preparing to release her debut solo album - has spoken openly that her struggles with food began as a young teenager, when she developed anorexia following the loss of her beloved grandad.
By the time she auditioned for The X Factor, she had only just been discharged from hospital.
She now admits that the ITV talent show should never have allowed her to compete in such a fragile state.
Despite her health battles, Jade thrived with Little Mix, alongside Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jesy Nelson.
Together, they sold more than 75million records, topped charts worldwide and won a Brit Award for Best British Group.
But the relentless pace, industry pressure and constant scrutiny took their toll.
Whilst Jade said she didn't think she had relapsed at the time, she admitted that looking back at old photos she can see she was 'very very thin'.
She credits boyfriend Jordan Stephens from Rizzle Kicks for helping her focus on her health and happiness and earlier this year described him as 'The One'
She explained: 'Historically, if I've ever felt that something is out of my control, then restricting food has been a means of controlling my life in a very toxic way.'
Now, as she prepares for the release of her debut solo album, Jade says she is focused on her health, happiness and music.
At home in south-east London, she shares a house with boyfriend Jordan Stephens of Rizzle Kicks and her best friend Holly.
Jade has been dating Jordan for five years and earlier this year revealed on Louis Theroux's podcast that she realised he was 'the one' when he bought her a pasty from Greggs to lift her spirits after Jesy left the band.
Reflecting on the shock exit from Little Mix in 2020, Jade said that she 'broke down in tears,' after hearing the news and Jordan's response was to fetch her a treat from the bakery chain.
She said: 'We were driving up North to see my family. I just wailed and wailed for an hour or something.
'We parked up at services and he was like, ''do you want some peace?''. And I was like, ''yes''.'
'That's when I knew he was a keeper because he was like, ''are you alright on your own for a little bit?''. I mean, I couldn't actually speak. So I was screaming.
'And then he went out into the shops and he came back with a pasty from Greggs and I thought, ''that's the one''.'