Little Mix’s Jade Thirwall On Eating Disorders, Being Hospitalized, ‘Glory Days’ Album

Little Mix’s Jade Thirwall is revealing all in the girl group’s new book, Our World. She is the latest member to open up about her struggles. Perrie Edwards last made headlines when she talked about the time when former 1D member Zayn Malik broke up with her.

Jade Thirwall may be living the life right now. She’s high off the success of her band’s last album, Get Weird, and their new single “Shout Out To My Ex.” But it hasn’t always been easy for the 23-year-old. Thirwall opened up her struggles with anorexia in the band’s new book. She candidly detailed the eating disorder, which started when she was just 13 years old, according to E! Online. Thirwall was triggered by the dealings with bullies and a death in the family, she said she lost a lot of weight, which led her to be hospitalized.

“My periods stopped and things were getting out of control but I don’t think I really cared about what was happening to me. I felt so depressed at the time that I just wanted to waste away and disappear.”

Only Thirwall could help herself. While other people tried to warn her about her eating disorder, she just couldn’t accept it.

“Anorexia is a self-destructive thing and you become stubborn, so when people are trying to tell you something you get it in your head that they’re against you and you’re not going to listen.”

It was the moment when she was hospitalized that she realized how serious and dangerous her battle had become, as reported via The Sun.

“It took going to the hospital to make me realize that it wasn’t a game, it was something really serious. They sat me down in the clinic and were quite tough at first, spelling it out: ‘You’re destroying your body and if you keep doing this you will die.'”

From then on, Thirwall began therapy sessions and visited the hospital every week. She credits finishing school and joining Little Mix for helping her get back on track with her mental health and overall health. Now she looks more liberated than ever in the band’s new music video for “Shout Out To My Ex.” In the video, according to Billboard, the pop stars are seen goofing around in the desert as they wear a variety of skimpy outfits.

Little Mix first debuted the track earlier this week on The X Factor U.K., the same show they were formed on back in 2011. It’s been rumored that the song is about Zayn Malik, who Perrie Edwards spent four years dating until their engagement ended in August 2015. “Shout Out To My Ex” is the first single from the band’s forthcoming album, Glory Days, which is set to drop on Nov. 18.

Thirwall spoke to JustJaredJr.com on the phone to explain the details of their new album.

“We were so scared,” she said when asked about their live performance on The X Factor U.K. “It’s a lot of pressure…before we went on, we were absolutely terrified. But as soon as the music came on, everything was good.”

“Shout Out To My Ex” is not the only breakup song on the album, hints Thirwall. There is more to come. Thirwall has cited Cher’s “Believe” and Fifth Harmony’s “That’s My Girl” as her other favorite breakup anthems.

“I think ‘Shout Out’ is an introduction. It’s quite poppy but a little bit more mature than the last album. There are dance songs on there and there are a couple of ballads on there. It’s a little bit more mature. We’ve become a little bit sassier.”

She also talked about the group’s upcoming tour with Ariana Grande. She said that she’s excited to return to the U.S. Some of Thirwall’s favorite places to visit are Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco.

“We’re definitely excited to be back in America and see all of our American fans that we haven’t seen in a while,” she added.

[Featured Image by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images]