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Jesy Nelson has given her first interview since leaving Little Mix, and revealed how online abuse and constant comparisons to her band-mates took a toll on her mental health, leading to her decision to quit last December.

The star spoke to Cosmopolitan magazine and explained how she "was classed as the obese, fat one" in the band.

Looking back, she said: "I can't believe how miserable I was."

Jesy said that since leaving the group, she is much happier and her confidence is "a solid 8.5 out of 10". When she got in the band, her "confidence was zero".

'What is perfect?'

Jesy opened up about her time in the band and how she was constantly trolled for her appearance: "What are we supposed to look like? What is perfect? To me, perfect is someone who embraces their flaws and is 100% themselves and comfortable with that."

The situation came to a head on the set of the Sweet Melody music video last year.

"We'd been in lockdown, and [that had been] the first time I could have a break and be at home around people that I love," she recalled.

"It was the happiest I'd ever felt, and I didn't realise that until I went back to work. I immediately became a different person. I had anxiety."

Jesy remembered panicking and going on an extreme diet before the music video shoot.

On the day of the shoot, she suffered a panic attack and "broke down" on set "because I didn't look how I wanted to look and I found it so hard to just be happy and enjoy myself".

After the shoot, she missed several events with the band - including the final of their �鶹�� One talent show Little Mix The Search, and the MTV Europe Music Awards.

And on 14 December, the singer broke the news that she had left the band on her Instagram page, saying she "couldn't deal with the pressure of being in a girl band".

'I feel free'

Speaking about how she's feeling since leaving the band, Jesy said: "Now I'm on my own, I can genuinely wear what I want to wear. Before, I was wearing what I thought I should wear, because I was too frightened to wear certain things in case I looked bigger than the others."

"I didn't know that I could be this happy," she continued.

"I thought when I was in the group that it was just normal to feel that way. And because I'd felt like that for 10 years, I just thought, "This is life." Since I've left, I feel free. I don't wakeup with anxiety, thinking, "I need to go on an extreme diet so I can look like the other three." That was consuming me.

"Even recently, I was still getting compared to them. It's horrible when you already don't like something about yourself to then have thousands of people point it out. Now I feel like me. When I look back [at my time] in the band, I genuinely wasn't me."

What's next?

The star told Cosmopolitan she was working on a second documentary, as well as a solo music career, but did not give away any further details.

In recent months, Jesy excited fans by sharing videos from a music studio on her Instagram stories and explained that "working on my mental health is going to the studio, and creating music that I love".

The singer said: "Music is my life. It's so powerful for me. I'm in the studio just having fun."

"I feel really content and happy. It's the weirdest, best feeling in the world", she added.

Little Mix have continued as a trio, announcing a tour for 2022, and releasing a new single, Confetti, last week.

At the time of Jesy's departure, her former bandmates said she had their full support, while acknowledging it was "an incredibly sad time" for their fans.

"We love her very much and agree that it is so important that she does what is right for her mental health and well-being," they said in a statement.