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PERRIE EDWARDS: Letting Go of a Friendship I Thought Would Last Forever

Great Company with Jamie Laing

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Perrie Edwards was just 17 when she found fame on The X Factor. After auditioning for the show, she was put together with Jade, Leigh-Anne and Jesy to form Little Mix - a group that became one of the biggest girlbands in British pop history.

In our conversation, Perrie reveals that one of the hardest things about being famous is having some of her most personal experiences play out in the public eye.

From the very public end of her friendship with Jesy to going through a break-up, Perrie opens up about what it's really like to grieve, heal and grow while the world is watching.

In this episode, Perrie shares:
The reality of being on The X Factor at 17
Going through a very public break-up with Zayn Malik
The emotional and physical impact of experiencing two miscarriages
The secure, fulfilling love she’s found with her husband Alex
Why she's made peace with her friendship with Jesy coming to an end

Perrie is a reminder that the people we grew up watching on stage are still figuring things out and that there's real strength in being honest about that.

Perrie Edwards is Great Company.

Listen to Perrie’s latest single ‘Passenger Princess’ here: https://open.spotify.com/track/1vcx8M...

This episode contains sensitive topic discussions including miscarriages. If you or someone you know is affected by anything in this episode and need support, please see the suggested helpline and website links below.

Miscarriage UK - https://www.miscarriageuk.org

00:00 Coming Up
01:49 Jamie’s Intro
02:12 Perrie's latest single
03:10 Starting over after Little Mix
06:22 Was there rivalry when the girls went solo?
09:25 How Perrie finally found her confidence
12:34 The impact of Perrie's Dad leaving
13:48 Discovering the voice that changed her life
16:45 X-Factor
20:10 Perrie ơn being in the public eye
25:23 Public heartbreak
29:21 How finding healthy love changed everything
31:10 Why Alex is her safe place
36:12 A powerful message for grieving parents
41:14 Where things stand with Jesy today
46:43 "I'm an open book"
50:43 The parenting lessons passed down from her mum
54:15 Final 8 questions

If you enjoyed the show, you can also follow us:

Instagram - Instagram: greatcompanypodcast
TikTok - TikTok: greatcompanypodcast
Jamie - Instagram: jamielaing

And if you've got thoughts, questions and comments, you can email us at: greatcompany@jampotproductions.co.uk

THE CREDITS
Producers: Helen Burke & Emilia Gill
Assistant Producer: Issy Weeks-Hankins
Video: Josh Bennett
Senior Social Media Manager: Laura Coughlan
Social Media Executive: Amber Hourigan
Audio: Rafi Amsili Geovannetti
Executive Producer: Ewan Newbigging-Lister

Shot on Sony Cinema Line cameras FX6 , FX2 with Sony G-Master lenses 16-35GM, 24-70GM.

Great Company is an original podcast from JamPot.

20 Comments

@mimi_sz 3 months ago

I don't think people understand how serious and emotional Perrie is being here. 15 years on this business, and we NEVER saw her get this upset/frustrated/enraged. Mixers know she's always been the sun, the fluffy happy supporting one. The things Jesy claimed at the documentary really took a piece out of her.

@nessa007productions 3 months ago

While my heart goes out to Jesy and her twins, Perrie has every right to feel the way she does.

@desmond107 3 months ago

I think fans gave Jesy so many opportunities. She always just goes back to the mindset that she was the only victim in the group and the other girls struggles weren´t as important as hers. She thinks they were supposed to be there for her even more than they were, yet she wasn´t there for any of them. And she always chooses to be public about it

@gemmalee_x 3 months ago (edited)

35:07 "Having to give birth to a child you cant take home" breaks my heart every time. I can only imagine the pain Perrie and Alex went through.

@micabaccarelli4899 3 months ago

at 12 years old I wanted to be like her, at 27 I want to be her friend SO BAD because this woman is the loveliest, funniest and most genuine person EVERRRRR

@rhyzaustin 3 months ago

It sounds like the documentary poured salt on the wound for Perrie. She’s obviously had enough. I get it. I’m the same. I’d keep it moving too

@Warlywoo 3 months ago

I think Perrie’s taken on Jesy is really authentic and important. I totally get her take on capacity.

@lilp2350 3 months ago

People keep saying that Perrie shouldn't have spoken on this now because of what Jesy is going through with her twins🙄Jesy was the one that made a documentary to discuss these things and brought Little Mix up throughout. Two things can be true at once and yall need to stop babying Jesy, it's exactly where that lack of accountability comes from.

@gracerose4537 3 months ago

People are all turning on Perrie because of jesy and her current circumstances but you can’t change the fact in the past jesy was in the wrong and she should’ve taken accountability

@riptopeteburns 3 months ago

Her saying they don’t support her while theres tons of footage (let alone the times they weren’t being filmed) of her ruining shoots by complaining about her own looks while perrie and jade kept telling her how she looks gorgeous and like a goddess and all she did was smirk

@lindziloo1478 3 months ago

I understand what she means about friends that just drain you. You sometimes have to remove yourself for your own sanity. You become a vessel for them to dump everything into but make no changes to help themselves, you become their emotional dumping ground and it's exhausting

@JajjiKo 3 months ago

It’s wild how Jesy kept bringing up another member who almost left the group before she did, completely missing the point. It is public knowledge that she was talking about Perrie, who was dealing with severe anxiety at the time and almost left Little Mix.
Jesy used Perrie’s struggles as a shield to defend her own actions, as if trying to say, "See? Someone else wanted to leave too!" It’s such a weird defense because people weren't upset that Jesy left for her mental health. They're upset by how she handled everything afterward.
Trying to throw a former bandmate under the bus to deflect criticism says everything you need to know about Jesy's character. What makes it even worse is that Perrie ended up taking a ton of unfair hate for it, all because Jesy wanted to shift the blame.

@Sizi-94 3 months ago (edited)

Perrie just casually dropping bombs left and right! 😅 It's important to notice that there are always 2 sides in every story and both sides where affected. Bravo Perrie that you chose to speak so authentically!! 👏👏👏

@libbyshep 3 months ago

I think the fact that all the comments are about her and Jesy’s relationship when she spoke so much about Zayn, which at one time would have been the biggest deal ever, speaks volumes of how much people cared and still care about little mix 🥹

@LiliaClarke-b3h 3 months ago

The way he must have researched her is amazing he knows the person he's interviewing which by today's standards is refreshing

@surajshrestha7047 3 months ago

“You can’t fix everything. You can’t fix people, that’s for certain. They’re set in their ways and clearly they don’t think there’s anything wrong with them.”
🔥🔥🔥🔥

The GAGGGGG!!! I f**king love you Perrie Louise Edwards! 😭🫶

@CMinuteByMinute 3 months ago

The way Perrie spoke about her first miscarriage is so incredibly human and honest and I just love her

@jesslynnden 3 months ago

What concerns me about Jesy is that she never went to therapy. Like.. expecting the girls to help you for so long just gets to a point where it’s mentally draining for them, and they aren’t mental health professionals. Therapy is much better, and she definitely needed it. But she she chooses not to, and that’s her decision, but it’s detrimental for her mental health. But I guess a therapist would’ve brought up the victim mentality she has and she would’ve been upset and thought she was being bullied.

@TheLauraGabrielle 3 months ago

Thank you for sharing Ace's name, Perrie. That is such a gift, and I feel honoured to know it. Thank you for sharing your stillbirth story - as a fellow stillborn loss mum to my boy Theodore, I am so grateful for this discussion ❤