Little Mix singer Jade Thirlwall has reflected on the “self-hatred” she felt as she entered the last decade, after discovering an old Facebook post she shared in 2010.
On New Year’s Eve, Jade admitted she felt upset after discovering a Facebook status she had penned 10 years earlier, listing things about herself she felt unhappy with.
In a letter addressed to “Santa”, the future chart-topping singer said she wished she had “appropriately-sized boobs so that I feel like a lady and not a 12-year-old” and a “body more toned than Nicole Scherzinger’s”.
“Kinda funny but WOW the self hatred here!!” Jade wrote, alongside a screengrab of the status in question.
She continued: “I feel sad knowing that version of myself in 2010 was so self conscious she felt the need to post publicly self deprecating herself. Just recovering from anorexia and no idea I was about to be pummelled into an industry that feeds off this kinda negative shit.
“It’s taken 10 years and while I still have normal days of feeling crap I can honestly say I love my little tittied, sometimes spotty imperfect self and you should too. I’m going into this decade with a whole lotta love for myself.”
Jade first spoke about her past struggles with anorexia in 2016, revealing that at the height of her eating disorder, she was hospitalised as a teenager.
Since joining the band in 2011, Jade has become known for her empowering messages to the group’s young fanbase, as well as her LGBTQ advocacy.
Last year, Jade also appeared in bandmate Jesy Nelson’s documentary, in which she detailed her own struggles with her self-image, after receiving near-constant online abuse as a member of Little Mix.
Useful websites and helplines:
- Beat, Adult Helpline: 0808 801 0677 and Youthline: 0808 801 0711 or email help@beateatingdisorders.org.uk (adults) fyp@beateatingdisorders.org.uk (youth support)
Samaritans, open 24 hours a day, on 116 123
Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393