Entertainment2 months ago3 min read

Jesy Nelson Shares Twin Daughters Will “Probably Never" Walk After Spinal Muscular Atrophy Diagnosis

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Jesy Nelson Shares Twin Daughters Will “Probably Never" Walk After Spinal Muscular Atrophy Diagnosis
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Why it matters

4 about her twin daughters’ Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 1 diagnosis, a life-threatening disease that leads to severe muscle weakness.

Key takeaways

  • Little Mix alum Jesy Nelson opened up in an emotional video Jan.
  • It does affect every muscle in the body down to legs, arms, breathing, swallowing and essentially what it does is overtime, it kills the muscles in the body,” the 34-year-old continued through tears.
  • And if it’s not treated in time, your baby’s life expectancy will not make it past the age of two.”After her daughters—who were born more than two months early after the “Black Magic” singer was hospitalized in March 2025 for a complication that threatened the babies' lives—received their diagnosis, Jesy described the treatment process at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children as "very rapid" since "time is of the essence, essentially."The couple—who started dating in 2022 before getting engaged in September—was also told that their daughters’ lives would be greatly altered by the disease.“We were told that they’re probably never gonna be able to walk, they probably will never regain their neck strength so they will be disabled,” Jesy explained.

“It does affect every muscle in the body down to legs, arms, breathing, swallowing and essentially what it does is overtime, it kills the muscles in the body,” the 34-year-old continued through tears. “And if it’s not treated in time, your baby’s life expectancy will not make it past the age of two.”

After her daughters—who were born more than two months early after the “Black Magic” singer was hospitalized in March 2025 for a complication that threatened the babies' lives—received their diagnosis, Jesy described the treatment process at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children as "very rapid" since "time is of the essence, essentially."

The couple—who started dating in 2022 before getting engaged in September—was also told that their daughters’ lives would be greatly altered by the disease.

“We were told that they’re probably never gonna be able to walk, they probably will never regain their neck strength so they will be disabled,” Jesy explained. “And so the best thing we can do right now is to get them treatment and then just hope for the best.”

She added, “Thankfully, the girls have had their treatment, which I’m so grateful for because if they don’t have it, they will die.”

She also acknowledged how her little girls’ diagnosis has changed her own life.

“It has just been endless amounts of hospital appointments,” she shared. “I practically feel like the hospital has become my second home. I also feel like I’ve almost had to become a nurse in the space of two weeks of getting their diagnosis because I now have to put them on breathing machines and do lots of stuff that no mother should really have to do on their child.”

The “Love Me Like You” hitmaker went on to share that the past few months have been “the most heartbreaking time of my life,” adding that she feels like she is “grieving the life I thought I was going to have with my children.”

“And I know I have to be grateful, you know, because at the end of the day, they're still here and that's the main thing and they’ve had the treatment,” she said. “And I truly believe that my girls will defy all the odds and, with the right help, they will fight this and go on to do things that have never been done.”

As for why the mom of two wanted to publicly disclose her daughters’ health update, she felt called to spread awareness about the disease, especially when it comes to the importance of early detection.

Jesy continued, “I just think that if I can raise as much awareness about this as possible and the signs, then something good has to come out of this.”

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Published: Jan 4, 2026

Read time: 3 min

Category: Entertainment