Jesy Nelson’s mother Janice has admitted she feared her daughter’s romance with Zion Foster was never built to last – long before the couple officially ended their engagement.
In her new Amazon Prime docuseries, Jesy Nelson: Life After Little Mix, filmed months before the split, Janice candidly reveals she had early doubts about the relationship. The former Little Mix star, 34, and Zion, 27, called off their engagement last month after a turbulent period caring for their twin daughters, Ocean Jade and Story Monroe, who were diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 1 (SMA1).
At the time of the break-up, Jesy said that despite ending their romantic relationship after four years together, they would remain “united as co-parents”.
But in scenes that now feel painfully prophetic, Janice recalls warning her daughter from the start. She says, “In the beginning, like I kept saying to Jesy, ‘he’s not the one for you, he’s too young, and he’s not for you.’”
Yet her view later softened. Reflecting on how Zion supported Jesy during some of the most difficult months of her life, Janice adds, “I feel horrible now, like he has just proved himself one billion per cent. He’s had such a positive calmness on her life. I think they’ve definitely found their soulmate in each other.”
The conflicting emotions are striking – especially now that the couple’s engagement has ended.
Janice also opens up about her protective instincts as a mother, admitting she has always worried about the intentions of anyone who enters Jesy’s life. “I do always worry because she’s got money, got a nice home, she’s got quite a lot for someone so young. So I do worry with any boy she meets, are their intentions genuine?” she says, before insisting, “But Zion was just so different.”
The series is set to reopen old wounds for Jesy, as viewers watch the romantic beach proposal that once symbolised a hopeful future.
In the emotional scene, Zion gazes at Jesy as they discuss a new chapter in Cornwall and tells her, “On another note, I just want to thank you for being the best partner I could ever ask for. I feel like you’ve helped me find a love that I even thought was possible.”
He continues, “I love you so, so much. You’re my best friend, and you’re the person I genuinely want to spend the rest of my life with. We’ve been through so much… but we will always come out stronger. So, will you marry me?”
An overwhelmed Jesy replies, “Yes, of course. This is the most beautiful ring… Oh, I love you so much.”
The couple became engaged in September, but just months later, their relationship unravelled amid unimaginable pressure following their daughters’ devastating diagnosis.
Speaking about the break-up, Jesy described the period as “such a traumatic experience”, explaining that the emotional strain shifted their dynamic. “Our girls are our main priority and our main focus. We want to give them the most positive, happy and uplifting time and energy,” she said. “The energy wasn’t right between us, which is understandable.”
Despite the split, she insists they remain friends and committed parents. “We are still friends and we are still united in co-parenting our daughters… that’s all we can do, be the best possible parents we can right now.”
Jesy has since become a passionate campaigner for newborn SMA screening, revealing she still feels “sad” and “angry” that her twins were not diagnosed sooner. Determined to focus on the present, she adds, “I am taking each day as it comes… If I try to look too far into the future, I will drive myself crazy. The girls are doing really well and they’re happy, that’s all I can really ask for.”
