Jade Thirlwall Reflects On Experiencing Racism And Eating Disorder During Childhood
9 November 2021, 16:16
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Little Mix’s Jade Thirlwall got candid about her childhood struggles in her new book, The Female Lead: We Rise By Lifting Others.
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Jade Thirlwall has opened up about the battles she faced during her childhood in her upcoming book titled The Female Lead: We Rise By Lifting Others.
The Little Mix star detailed the struggles she faced in an extract obtained by MailOnline, where she speaks about the tough time she went through as she was targeted by racist bullies during secondary school.
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The 28-year-old went on to reveal that she developed an eating disorder and was ‘desperate’ to change how she looked.
Jade also reflected on the tough time in her life when she lost her grandad, whom she was close with and encouraged her to celebrate her heritage - Jade’s dad is white British while her mother is Yemeni and Egyptian.
Speaking about her upbringing, the ‘Confetti’ songstress said: “My Grandad was keen on celebrating our heritage and cooking Yemeni food. We lived next to the mosque and 35 different languages were spoken at my school.
"I was shy and timid but I found that I could express myself on stage, singing and dancing. I always felt loved and protected growing up, especially by my Grandad, who was a beautiful person."
Jade then went on to say that her life changed when she began secondary school, adding: “The minute I went to secondary school things changed. I was the only person from my primary who went to my predominantly white Catholic secondary and, immediately, I had no friends and I was an easy target."
She continued: "My Mam sent me there because it was one of the best schools in the borough and she thought she was doing the right thing.
"During my secondary years, there was a lot of bullying, my grandad passed away, and I developed an eating disorder."
Reflecting on her childhood, Jade added: “I was desperate to change the way I looked to feel more accepted, and going into the music industry just added a magnifying glass to those feelings. I wish that I had been able to shake myself and say, 'Just be yourself. That wins every time.'"
