Jesy Nelson explains subtle symptom that she thought was just a ‘cute’ quirk before twin girls’ devastating diagnosis
Kit Roberts
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@jesynelson
Jesy Nelson has explained some of the signs of a serious condition in her twin girls she didn't realize were so significant.
The Little Mix singer welcomed her twin daughters Ocean Jade and Story Monroe in 2025, and the pair were born prematurely at 31 weeks.
As a result, the twins had to spend time in the neonatal ward, before doctors finally decided it would be safe to discharge them home.
But Jesy explained that the messaging in the neonatal ward had led her to assume that some of the unusual things she saw in her daughters were the result of them being born prematurely.
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They would go on to be diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type one, a condition that means they'll probably never walk.
Speaking to the Great Company with Jamie Laing podcast, she said: "When they were in the neonatal ward, you're constantly told don't compare your babies, because they're not going to be like full-term babies, they're not going to reach the same milestones."
She added: "So when we took them home, I noticed all the signs, but didn't know what they were, I just thought it was because they were premature."
But while they thought that this was a sign of the premature birth, it actually meant something else entirely.
Jesy said she had noticed two things in the twins, with the first one being that they had differently-shaped bellies.
"When I took them home, when I'd lay them down to change their nappy their bellies were like a bell shape," she said, adding that they would 'breathe from their belly, they won't breathe from their chest'.
When she held her babies for the first time, she noticed they held their legs in a 'frog leg' shape.
She said: "I remember turning to Zion saying, 'Oh their legs are so cute! Look at this little position that they're laying on me in.'"
She explained that after she and Zion had moved to Cornwall in the UK, her mom had seen the twins after some time, and noticed they weren't moving their legs much.
Her mom had compared the twins to another child in the family who had kicked their legs a lot, and despite Jesy reminding her of the advice from the neonatal ward, she was convinced that something wasn't right.
The hunch would ultimately be proved right when the twins were diagnosed with SMA.
This is a rare health condition which severely impacts someone's mobility.
Jesy recalled that when she got a call saying 'the doctor would like to speak to you', she 'just knew' that something was wrong.
Unfortunately, the strain and stress had a big impact on Jesy's relationship with Zion Foster, and the pair confirmed they had split up in 2026.
Despite no longer being romantically involved, the pair explained that they were still the 'best of friends', and were looking out for their daughters' medical needs.