Frankie Bridge praises Jesy Nelson for leaving Little Mix as she discusses her mental breakdown

Frankie Bridge has applauded Jesy Nelson for her bravery, after the singer announced her departure from Little Mix to focus on her mental health.   

The TV personality, 31, insisted that ‘health and wellbeing has to be at the forefront’, as she opened up about her own mental breakdown during her time in the pop group, The Saturdays. 

After being admitted to a psychiatric ward in 2011, she told the BBC‘s Morning Live on Tuesday that the experience made her realise her supportive partner Wayne, 40, was ‘a keeper’. 

Time to leave: Frankie Bridge praised Jesy Nelson (pictured) for her bravery, after the singer announced her departure from Little Mix on Monday to focus on her mental health

Frankie spoke to hosts Gethin Jones and Kym Marsh about Jesy’s Little Mix exit, saying: ‘It made me really sad.

‘I think they’ve had such a successful career and they’re obviously all really close and I feel like the girls clearly support her decision, but it must have been really hard for them all. 

‘And especially for Jesy to walk away from something she’s obviously always wanted, I think it’s just really, really brave. I just hope that now the public and the press give her the time that she needs and the space.’ 

During a lengthy post uploaded to social media on Monday evening, Jesy, 29, thanked the band for giving her the ‘most incredible time’ of her life, but admitted living up to high expectations had taken a toll on her mental health. 

Honest: The TV personality, 31, insisted that 'health and wellbeing has to be at the forefront' as she opened up about her own mental breakdown in The Saturdays (pictured in 2014)

Honest: The TV personality, 31, insisted that ‘health and wellbeing has to be at the forefront’ as she opened up about her own mental breakdown in The Saturdays (pictured in 2014)

Frankie added: ‘It is clearly something she’s always wanted to do so to be brave enough to take that step is a really big thing. 

‘There are probably lots of people before her that weren’t brave enough to do that and I think she’s setting a really good example to all the young fans that love Little Mix already to say, “success is amazing but your health and wellbeing has to be at the forefront”.’ 

The former The Saturdays singer also candidly discussed the time her mental health reached a low point during filming for the band’s melancholic track, My Heart Takes Over, in 2011.  

Frankie said: ‘Well funnily enough, when we were filming this video I knew I was about to go into hospital for a mental breakdown, so I was quite pleased in that video, I didn’t have to be smiley and jumping around for a change, it did make it easier. 

Admiration: Frankie said of Jesy's exit: 'It is clearly something she's always wanted to do so to be brave enough to take that step is a really big thing'

Admiration: Frankie said of Jesy’s exit: ‘It is clearly something she’s always wanted to do so to be brave enough to take that step is a really big thing’

Shocking announcement: During a lengthy post uploaded to her social media, Jesy, 29, explained her decision to leave and thanked the band for giving her the 'most incredible time'

Shocking announcement: During a lengthy post uploaded to her social media, Jesy, 29, explained her decision to leave and thanked the band for giving her the ‘most incredible time’

‘Just having the knowledge that I was finally going to give in to all of my mental health issues and get help felt really nice, to kind of hand over the responsibility of my life to someone else felt really nice. 

‘And Wayne was a massive part of that, we’d only been together for about a year. 

‘Now, obviously, he’s my husband, but he could have run a mile at that point and he’s the person who took me to hospital, he encouraged me to do it. 

She added: ‘He spoke to my therapist and my doctors throughout the whole thing so that he could understand it the best he could, I knew at that point that he was a keeper!’ 

The couple tied the knot in a in a private ceremony in 2014 and they share two sons, Parker, seven, and Carter, five. 

Honest: The former Saturdays singer candidly discussed the time her mental health reached a low point during filming for the band's melancholic 2011 track, My Heart Takes Over

Honest: The former Saturdays singer candidly discussed the time her mental health reached a low point during filming for the band’s melancholic 2011 track, My Heart Takes Over

The mother-of-two has since published the book, OPEN: Why Asking for Help Can Save Your Life, which details her mental health journey, in addition to her podcast, Open Mind. 

During a trek to raise mental health awareness for Sport’s Relief earlier this year, Frankie suffered a panic attack, and recalled the disappointment she felt after promoting her own wellbeing progress in her book. 

She said: ‘In my book I tell everyone if you’re feeling anxious, stop trying to push it down and just let it out and you’ll find it moves on a lot easier, and I did the complete opposite to that and that’s why I ended up having a panic attack.

‘Then I was annoyed and disappointed with myself because I hadn’t had one in for many years so it was a real mix of feelings, and obviously being filmed having one!’

Meant to be: After being admitted to a psychiatric ward in 2011, she said to hosts Gethin Jones and Kym Marsh that the experience made her realise her partner Wayne, 40, was 'a keeper'

Meant to be: After being admitted to a psychiatric ward in 2011, she said to hosts Gethin Jones and Kym Marsh that the experience made her realise her partner Wayne, 40, was ‘a keeper’

Love: Frankie said of her husband's support during her breakdown: 'He spoke to my therapist and my doctors throughout the whole thing so that he could understand it the best he could'

Love: Frankie said of her husband’s support during her breakdown: ‘He spoke to my therapist and my doctors throughout the whole thing so that he could understand it the best he could’

Despite feeling frustrated by her vulnerable moment, Frankie hopes it sheds some light on panic attacks for others. 

She continued: ‘I was a bit like, “this is so ironic, the whole point of the trek was to raise awareness for mental health and to raise money and here I am, just wrote my book on how to cope with my own mental health and then having a panic attack.”

‘But also I did realise how important it was for people to see, who may suffer [from them] themselves, to realise they’re not alone.

‘Also if you’ve never had one before, it’s so hard to understand. so I did realise it might be a good thing for those people to see what it’s like.’

Family matters: The couple tied the knot in a in a private ceremony in 2014 and they share two sons, Parker, seven, and Carter, five (pictured in October)

Family matters: The couple tied the knot in a in a private ceremony in 2014 and they share two sons, Parker, seven, and Carter, five (pictured in October)