Singer Jade Thirlwall says she finds constant questions about having children hard to handle. The former Little Mix star, who has gone on to forge a hugely successful solo career, opened up about the pressures to have a family.
Jade, 32, has been dating Rizzle Kicks musician Jordan Stephens for five years, and says she finds speculation about her being pregnant “invasive” on ITV ’s The Assembly.
“The thing that annoys me the most is ‘Am I going to have children, am I pregnant?’” she offloads. “I find it weird that people ask that as they don’t know what my circumstances are. You don’t know if someone can’t have children, they don’t want to or aren’t ready yet.”
“I think it’s an invasive question. I’ve put on a bit of weight since I’ve become a solo artist. Then people speculate. I’m like ‘Babe, I’ve just had a bit of garlic bread.’ I’m bloated. I feel like I always have to be conscious of it.”
South Shields-born Jade rose to fame on ITV talent show The X Factor, when she auditioned as a solo singer and was put into group Little Mix with Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jesy Nelson.
She launched her own solo career last year with hit single Angel of My Dreams, which won best song at this year’s Brit Awards.
The singer was quizzed by a group of autistic, neurodivergent and learning disabled people for ITV series The Assembly.
They brought some hard-hitting questions, grilling Jade on her talent show days, asking if she’d “sold her soul” on The X Factor.
“Maybe a little bit in the beginning,” she winced. “I was so young and I’d just signed the dotted line. But as the years have gone by and I’ve got to know more about the industry… it’s a bit like Thanos with the stones, I’ve been collecting parts of my soul back as I’ve gained more creative freedom and I’ve learned more about the industry.”
Asked if the demise of the show means the end of boss Simon Cowell, she said: “I think it’s the end of that TV show, the end of that era. I don’t think it’s the end of Simon Cowell specifically.”
She opened up about her first dates with Jordan, 33 – saying she laid down her biggest turn offs straight away.
“We asked each other very serious questions like, do you clap when the plane lands because that’s a big ick for me.”
She also recalled a disastrous meeting with a budding suitor before they got together.
“I’ve been catfished before,” she revealed. “I met up with a guy at a bar. I didn’t know it was him as he looked so different. He was asking a lot of intrusive questions, almost like a journalist, so I got the ick quickly there.”
Jade got emotional when asked about the tragic death of her friend Liam Payne last year.
“He was the first friend I made in the industry,” she said. “We both auditioned for X Factor when we were very young. He was so lovely. He was very talented. He really wanted to make his family proud, which he did. I remember everyone on the show at the time saying this person is a star. He literally had the X Factor. He was destined to be a musician, a singer.”
The Assembly continues Sundays at 10pm on ITV.
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