Leigh-Anne Pinnock admits she lost ‘parts of herself’ during her time with Little Mix and her confidence was ‘chipped away’ as she ‘struggled’ to find her identity in the group

Leigh-Anne Pinnock has admitted she lost ‘parts of herself’ during her time with Little Mix as she ‘struggled’ to find her identity in the group.

The singer, 32, chatted with Will Manning on Capital Breakfast on Friday morning after kickstarting her solo career earlier this year.

During the interview, Leigh-Anne opened up about the tough times she had in the girl band – despite the huge success they achieved.

“You talk about the times you weren’t happy and you turned it on, it just made me really sad,” the host said.

“I think that was shocking to a lot of people. When you think of Little Mix, you think of those times, you think of color and rainbows and happiness, and yes, it was, because I was with my sisters and we were having the time of our lives, and I think the reason The reason I went through with it was so I just had them to laugh at,” the singer explained.

‘I felt like I really needed that, that sisterhood meant the world to me. I think it was also hard not really understanding what was going on.”

“If you think the reason why I felt that way was because of the color of my skin, I couldn’t even say those words because it didn’t really make sense to me,” she added.

“You also say you were put in the band and all that, trying to figure out what role you were playing. ‘Am I the sexy one, I’ll try that, no I’m not’. That’s really hard,” Will asked.

“That was a struggle,” Leigh-Anne admitted honestly.

“I think finding my identity in the group, I think every girl had their thing. Jade (Thirlwall) was like the adorable Geordie, Perrie (Edwards) was a beautiful blonde and incredible voice, Jesy (Nelson) was inspiring, and I thought, where do I fit into this? And yes, I went on, do I have a certain hairstyle that I always rock? Or do I wear the sexy dresses?’

The English songwriter opened up saying, “I’m really struggling to find this place and I really found myself losing parts of myself. I went into that group so confident and confident with my voice, confident with my everything, and right from the start these things were just broken down, broken down.”

“Do you feel settled?” the radio host asked.

“I think the moment where I was like, Leigh-Anne, just be yourself… was when I was like, I’m just happy to do that,” she said.

It comes after the My Love singer revealed that all three band members secretly had therapy after Jesy Nelson left the group.

The pop star – who rose to fame in the girl group formed on The X Factor in 2011 – wrote candidly about the bands’ infighting in her new autobiography Believe.

Leigh-Anne was joined by Perrie Edwards, 30, Jade Thirlwall, 30, and previously Jesy, 32, in the band which split in 2021, following Jesy’s departure in 2020.

Speaking about the ‘painful’ exit, Leigh-Anne said: ‘It was a complex and painful thing to come to terms with. We all felt it, that pain and sadness. It all felt like a strange breakup, and I wasn’t prepared for it.

‘I wasn’t prepared for the intensity of those emotions. The whole thing was abrupt and sad and then messy, which made it even more painful.”

She continued, “I have been in therapy over the course of my career. When we decided to pause Little Mix, I felt compelled to go back. We all did that.

“In fact, it happened a little earlier than our interruption. We were a family, all four of us were like sisters, and had been since we were teenagers, so it’s no exaggeration to say that losing a member was a traumatic experience.

“When you’ve felt so much love and support from someone else for so long and that suddenly disappears, you never fully understand why it hurts.”

‘Therapy helped me, all of us, in processing what had happened and managing the emotions that came with it. All that mess is so far behind me now that it’s not even worth commenting on. We have moved forward into something even brighter and stronger.”

Speaking of good friends Perrie and Jade, Leigh-Anne ended by writing: ‘The experience has brought the three of us even closer together.’

Jesy previously spoke about her devastating mental health struggles during her time with Little Mix – and revealed she doesn’t regret leaving the band in 2020 because she needed to protect her mental health.

Jesy admitted she hasn’t spoken to the band’s other stars – Perrie, Leigh-Anne and Jade – in two years.

At the time of her departure, Jesy admitted she found the ‘constant pressure of being in a girl group and living up to expectations very tough’, with the pop star now admitting she was never ‘prepared’ for the job as she ‘just a barmaid’.

She told The Sun: “For me, my mental health issues were an ongoing thing while I was in Little Mix. I was struggling with my body issues, I was constantly being made fun of, and I was really, really struggling with it.

‘I was in it for almost ten years. I guess I was never prepared for what was to come. I didn’t have social media or anything like that. I was just a barmaid working in Dagenham.

“I needed support and help to overcome that, and there wasn’t time for that when I was in the band. I have no regrets because I had to do what was right for me and I will always cherish the memories of Little Mix.”

In December 2021, the pop trio announced that the group is taking a break after ‘ten great years’.

The band wrote in full to announce their decision: ‘We just wanted to let you all know that we will be taking a break from Little Mix after the Confetti tour in April/May next year.

‘It’s been ten great years, a wonderful non-stop adventure, and we feel the time is right to take a break so we can recharge and work on other projects.

“We can’t thank you enough for your love and never-ending support since the beginning. We love you all so much.”

Little Mix continued: ‘We’re not breaking up – Little Mix is ​​here to stay. We have plans for more music, tours and performances in the future. We’ve made so many incredible memories with all of you, and we can’t wait to make so many more.

“We are sisters and we will always have each other and you, the fans, in our lives. Little Mix is ​​forever, see you on tour! Jade, Leigh-Anne and Perrie.’

Earlier this year, Leigh-Anne said she felt “frustrated, sad and angry” at being “underappreciated” during her time in the chart-topping group.

Leigh-Anne said in the same Vogue interview how despite family and friends telling her to just ‘take the money’, she couldn’t accept the treatment.

The singer is now set to launch her solo career with her debut song Don’t Say Love – released on Friday – which helped her channel her “frustration, sadness and anger” at the situation she found herself in with Little Mix.

Despite her feelings, the musician admitted that being cast for the band during her stint on The X Factor was “the best thing that ever happened” as the group created a “long-lasting legacy.”

Since the group split, the singer has delved into the world of acting with small film roles while focusing on motherhood for her twins, who were born in August 2021.