Jessie J and Kate Middleton live very different lives, but at the Royal Variety Performance in London in November, the two women were able to bond over their shared experiences with cancer and motherhood.
And in an interview with Good Morning America that aired Friday (Dec. 5), the British singer-songwriter revealed what exactly she and the Princess of Wales discussed when they came face to face at the event. “She just said, ‘Thank you, I know you’ve gone through a tough time,’” Jessie recalled. “I said, ‘I know you have too.’”
The vocalist went on to tell Middleton, “Mum to mum, cancer survivor to cancer survivor, I see you, and I feel you. Can I give you a hug?’ She said, ‘Of course you can.’”
The interview comes about six months after Jessie — who shares a young son with partner Chanan Safir Colman — publicly shared that she’d been diagnosed with breast cancer. She underwent surgery in June, weeks after which she returned to the hospital with symptoms that turned out to be the result of an infection.
In July, she discovered that her cancer had not spread, which she shared in an emotional message to fans. She did, however, have to postpone her tour that was scheduled for this fall due after learning she’d need a second surgery.
“I know there’s a chance it could come back, but until then, we’re living life,” Jessie updated GMA on Friday.
If anyone understands the pressures of fighting cancer while being a mom in the public eye, it’s Middleton, who announced in March 2024 that she was undergoing treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer. Six months later, the princess revealed that she had completed chemotherapy, after which she entered remission.
Despite being “briefed” not to hug Middleton at the Royal Variety Performance, Jessie J told British talk show This Morning earlier this week that she couldn’t help herself. “I just saw a mom that has also gone through cancer publicly, and I just wanted to give her a hug,” she explained. “It was as simple as that. I didn’t see her as the Princess of Wales, I mean obviously I did, and I was respectful … I said to her, ‘Can I give you a hug?’ and she received it.”
She added at the time, “I just wanted to give her a hug — mom to mom, human to human.”
