Little Mix’s Jesy Nelson says baby daughters may “never be able to walk” due to rare muscular condition

Former Little Mix singer Jesy Nelson has revealed that her twin baby daughters will “probably never walk” due to a rare muscular condition.

Nelson gave birth to the girls – Ocean Jade and Story Monroe Nelson-Foster – in May, confirming that they had been born prematurely at 31 weeks, and saying that she and her partner, the London-based rapper Zion Foster, were “so blessed” by the girls’ arrival.

Now, in an emotional video posted to her Instagram page on Sunday (January 4), Nelson has opened up about the girls, revealing that they have received a diagnosis of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), which she described as “the most severe muscular disease”.

She outlined what she said have been “the most gruelling three, four months and endless appointments”, before confirming that she had been told that her daughters are suffering from “SMA type 1”.

“It does affect every muscle in the body, down to legs, arms, breathing, swallowing,” she said, adding that both daughters were struggling to feed properly or move their legs freely.

She explained: “Essentially, what it does is, over time, it kills the muscles to the body, and if it’s not treated in time, your baby’s life expectancy will not make it past the age of two.”

Nelson said that doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital informed her that the girls were “probably never going to be able to walk. They probably will never regain their neck strength, so they will be disabled.”

She expressed her gratitude for the treatment they have received, and detailed the process of putting her daughter on breathing machines to relieve her symptoms.

Nelson also explained that she wanted to share the diagnosis so that it might help others in a similar situation, and said that she believed her daughters would “defy all the odds” and that they “will fight this”.

According to the charity SMA UK, an estimated 47 babies were born with the condition in the UK in 2024, although roughly one in 40 people carry the gene that can cause the disease.

Before the twins’ birth, Nelson revealed in March that she was undergoing an emergency procedure to prevent complications related to twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS). The rare condition affects some unborn twins and is caused by abnormal blood vessels connecting the twins to their placenta, leading to one twin receiving a greater blood volume than the other.

A later post confirmed that the operation had been a success, which she said was “absolutely incredible”. She said she felt “so, so lucky to have the most amazing doctors”.

In October, Nelson said she had “never felt prouder of her body” following the twins’ birth. “I never thought it would have taken having two beautiful baby girls, that I could have potentially lost, to make me realise how incredible my body actually is,” she said.

Nelson departed Little Mix in 2020 after reasoning that being in the girl group had taken a “toll” on her mental health. She released her first solo single, ‘Boyz’, featuring Nicki Minaj, in 2021, followed by ‘Bad Thing’ in 2023.