Great Company with Jamie Laing

Episode: JESY NELSON - PART 1: Becoming a Mum & The Fight No Baby Should Face

Date: February 4, 2026
Guest: Jesy Nelson
Host: Jamie Laing

Episode Overview

In this powerfully moving episode, Jamie Laing welcomes singer Jesy Nelson to discuss her journey into motherhood, her twins' rare diagnosis of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), and the resilience required to fight for her children's health. Jesy shares the emotional rollercoaster of receiving a life-altering diagnosis, the struggles and strengths of navigating the NICU, and her drive to spread awareness so no baby should face what her daughters have. The conversation delves into subjects of maternal love, personal growth, harsh realities of the medical system, and transformative perspective shifts. This episode is raw, sincere, and deeply inspiring.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jesy's Transition to Motherhood

• Jesy describes her transformation since becoming a mum, candidly sharing her emotional ups and downs:
  • “I have good and bad days. I won't sit here and be like, oh, I'm fucking amazing… I feel like when you become a mum, you almost have to come, like, superhuman because you're just irrelevant. Like, I don't really matter anymore. Like, they are like my whole heart and soul…” (07:03)
• She describes how previously trivial worries now seem insignificant in the face of her daughters’ needs.
• Jesy admits she never wanted children and had no maternal instincts prior to her pregnancy, making her journey all the more unexpected:
  • “I was not maternal at all. There was not one maternal bone in my body.” (11:13)
  • The pregnancy was unplanned, and her initial emotional reaction was overwhelming yet ultimately affirming. (11:50)

2. Loss of Purpose and the Arrival of Her Daughters

• Jesy describes feeling lost and purposeless before her pregnancy, despite career success in Little Mix:
  • “For a very long time I felt very lost. Just honestly felt like I had no sense of purpose… I still felt like that even when I was in Little Mix.” (13:20)
• Her twins, Ocean Jade and Story Monroe, brought a sense of identity and meaning:
  • “I feel like my girls came along and they just made me the person I've always wanted to be.” (13:37)

3. The Diagnosis: Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA)

• Jesy courageously details her daughters’ diagnosis:
  • “Spinal muscular atrophy is a muscular wasting disease… If you don't get them treatment in time, eventually the muscles will all just die, which then affects the breathing, the swallowing, everything. And they will die before the age of two.” (14:47)
• She explains the severity of the condition and the urgent need for early treatment.
• Jesy highlights the additional complication of TTTS (Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome), emphasizing her babies’ fight for life even before birth. (15:17–16:20)
• Diagnosis was a protracted, traumatic process, with repeated hospital visits and delays that left Jesy feeling powerless and desperate for action. (32:19)

4. Motherhood in Crisis: NICU and Hospital Trauma

• The pain of separation from her premature twins is described in raw detail:
  • "It's so unnatural as a mother to not have your baby on you… You just see them with all these tubes and these masks… all you want to do is pick them up and cuddle them, and you can't." (20:07)
• She expresses profound anguish at being unable to perform basic acts of motherhood, like feeding her babies, especially when nurses or even close family took on those roles:
  • “Every time I would come in, having to see another woman hold and look after my baby was just, like, heartbreaking for me because I was like, they don't even know I'm their mum.” (21:54)

5. Diagnosis Journey: Recognizing the Signs

• Jesy discusses being warned not to compare her premature babies to full-term babies, which delayed recognizing SMA signs.
• She describes in detail the progression from vague concerns (frog-leg position, bell-shaped bellies) to acute alarm (total lack of leg movement):
  • “I noticed all the signs but didn’t know what they were. I just thought it was because they were premature.” (25:02)
• A pivotal moment came when she googled “hypertonia” and immediately feared for her children’s lives:
  • “The first thing that comes up… is SMA type 1. And it says, if you do not get treatment, your baby will not make it past the age of two.” (30:37)
• Multiple doctors’ visits ultimately led to the devastating confirmation of SMA Type 1. (34:25–39:36)

6. Treatment and Hope

• Jesy expresses gratitude that her daughters received treatment in time and remarks on the transformational impact of advances in medicine:
  • “This treatment is literally life changing… I've seen so many families that didn't get treatment.” (46:02)
• The situation remains precarious, but Jesy focuses on each day, celebrating small victories and her daughters’ resilience:
  • “But the thing is with SMA is everything’s so uncertain, and that's the part that can really drive you crazy… you have to take each day as it comes.” (40:39)

7. Raising Awareness and Frustration with the System

• Jesy is passionate about using her platform to campaign for newborn screening (the “heel prick test”) for SMA in England:
  • “There's like 45 countries where they do test for it and this is one of the countries that don't. It's literally the difference of either your child will be in a wheelchair or your child will walk if you get the treatment early enough.” (45:18; 46:02)
• She expresses anger and heartbreak that change requires celebrity attention:
  • “It fucks me off that it took for me with a platform for it to be taken seriously… That shouldn't be the case but you know, it is what it is and you just gotta do what I can.” (48:00)

8. Perspective Changes and Self-Acceptance

• Jesy reflects on how her new reality has fundamentally altered her outlook:
  • “Oh my God, everything else just feels so insignificant.” (49:55)
  • “I’ve always been so conscious of… what I look like and my way and I honestly couldn't give two anymore. I could not give two shits because it's just so insignificant to my life right now and it just puts everything into perspective.” (50:45)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "When you become a mum, you almost have to become like a superhuman… they are like my whole heart and soul." – Jesy Nelson (00:02; 07:03)
• "You could not write it, then what was about to happen." – Jesy Nelson (00:05; 09:49)
• "Spinal muscular atrophy... if you don't get them treatment in time, eventually the muscles will all just die… and they will die before the age of two." – Jesy Nelson (14:47)
• “It's so unnatural as a mother to not have your baby on you… it's horrendous.” – Jesy Nelson (20:07)
• "It’s literally the case of either your child will be in a wheelchair or your child will walk if you get the treatment early enough.” – Jesy Nelson (46:02)
• “That is one of the reasons why I wanted to do [the documentary]... now it's going to spread even more awareness.” – Jesy Nelson (09:51)
• “All these babies that are going to suffer and all these families… they don’t have to.” – Jamie Laing, discussing newborn screening (45:44)
• “I feel like my girls came along and they just made me the person I've always wanted to be.” – Jesy Nelson (13:37)
• “Everything else just feels so insignificant… the shit I used to worry about… pathetic.” – Jesy Nelson (49:56)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Time | Segment/Topic | |-------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------| | 07:03 | Jesy candidly discusses the emotional toll and superhuman strength of motherhood | | 09:49 | Allowing documentary cameras in; the unforeseen gravity of what followed | | 14:47 | Explanation of SMA diagnosis, its fatal threat, and urgent treatment need | | 20:07 | Jesy describes the trauma of being separated from her babies in the NICU | | 25:02 | Recognizing symptoms, the "no comparing" warning, and early missed signs | | 30:37 | Googling "hypertonia"—realization and terror at online findings | | 34:25 | Receiving the likely diagnosis from the private pediatrician | | 39:40 | The girls’ resilience, why Jesy feels blessed they are twins | | 45:18 | The fight to include SMA in the national newborn “heel prick test” | | 46:02 | The urgency of early diagnosis and how treatment can mean walking vs. wheelchair | | 48:00 | Jesy’s anger at how change requires high-profile advocacy | | 49:56 | How motherhood and crisis have fundamentally changed Jesy’s outlook |

Final Thoughts

This episode is a testament to Jesy Nelson's strength, honesty, and advocacy. Listeners witness not only her pain and challenges as a mother facing unimaginable odds but also her transformation into a fierce advocate for her children and others affected by SMA. Jamie’s compassionate hosting allows Jesy’s story to unfold with rawness and hope, making it essential listening for anyone interested in resilience, the realities of rare diseases, and the profound shifts that come with parenthood.

Don’t miss Part 2 for the continuation of Jesy’s journey and more insights into her fight for her children and SMA awareness.